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BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER: 


BEING 


EXTRACTS   FROM    HIS 


CHECKS   TO    ANTINOMIANISM, 


i, ,-.?»;  IN    A    SERIES    OF    LETTERS    TO 


REV.  MR.  SHIRLEY  AND  MR.  HILL. 


BY   REV.  T.  SPICER,  A.M. 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  G.  LANE  &  P.  P.  SANDFO^D, 

FOR  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH,  AT  THE  CONFERENCE  OFFICE, 
200  MULBERRY-STREET. 


/.  Collord,  Printer. 
1843. 


"  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 
T.  Mason  and  G.  Lane,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District 
Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York." 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Vindication  of  Mr.  Wesley's  last  Minutes,  or, 
"Checks  to  Antinomianism,"  by  the  celebrated  Mr. 
Fletcher,  of  Madely,  Eng.,  has  been  very  justly  regarded 
by  the  Methodist  societies,  both  in  Europe  and  America, 
as  one  of  the  most  excellent  works  of  the  kind  that  has 
ever  been  pubUshed  in  the  English  language. 

This  work  was  first  published  in  London,  A.D.  1788, 
in  six  duodecimo  volumes,  and  it  has  passed  through 
four  editions  in  America.  It  has  had  a  very  extensive 
circulation  in  this  country,  and  has  been  read  with 
great  pleasure  and  profit.  Many  have  thereby  been 
led  from  the  mazes  of  a  speculative  and  vain  philo- 
sophy, and  the  intricacies  of  Calvinian  subtleties,  to  a 
clear  and  satisfactory  view  of  the  plan  of  salvation  as 
exhibited  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  And  not  a  few,  who, 
by  means  of  Calvinism,  had  renounced  the  Bible  and 
become  skeptical,  have,  by  reading  these  "Checks," 
been  brought  to  see  a  beauty  and  harmony  in  the 
doctrines  contained  in  this  sacred  volume,  and  have 
acknowledged  its  truth.  It  is  a  fact  too  well  known  to 
be  denied,  that  many  who  have  known  no  other  way 
to  understand  the  Scriptures  than  as  Calvinism  teaches, 


4  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

have  seen  in  Calvinian  predestination,  election,  and 
reprobation,  so  many  things  repugnant  to  reason  and 
common  sense,  that  they  have  chosen,  rather  than  be- 
lieve such  doctrines,  to  renounce  the  book  which  they 
had  been  taught  to  believe  contained  them.  Not  a  few 
of  these  have  been  induced  to  read  these  Checks,  which 
exhibit  a  different  view  of  the  divine  government,  and 
of  the  plan  of  salvation,  from  that  which  is  exhibited 
in  Calvinism,  and  have  thereby  been  led  to  embrace 
Christianity  again,  as  a  system  the  most  lovely  and 
interesting  of  all  the  exhibitions  of  the  divine  Being. 

"  What  is  truth  ?"  This  is  a  very  interesting  ques- 
tion :  there  are,  however,  many  persons  in  the  world 
hke  Pilate,  who  make  this  important  inquiry,  but  have 
not  sufficient  patience  to  wait  for  an  answer.  If  a 
book  be  large,  or  if  a  work  consist  of  several  volumes, 
they  cannot  endure  the  thought  of  perusing  the  whole 
in  order  to  ascertain  what  is  truth.  This  is  the  case 
of  many  who  are  not  accustomed  to  close  thinking  or 
extensive  reading.  These  must  be  accommodated  with 
a  treatise  that  is  brief  and  directly  to  the  point,  or  their 
attention  is  not  gained,  nor  can  we  win  their  assent  to 
truth. 

In  the  works  of  Mr.  Fletcher  there  are  many  matters 
contained  which  may  be  considered  rather  of  a  local 
character  than  of  general  interest.  At  the  time  when 
they  were  written  they  were,  doubtless,  considered  very 
interesting  to  all  concerned,  but  at  this  distance  of  time 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


and  place,  few  of  his  readers  would  feel  much  interest 
in  them.  A  kind  of  abridgment,  which  shall  contain 
a  sketch  or  outhne  of  these  matters,  and  also  present  an 
epitome  of  the  work,  will  interest,  and  greatly  profit,  a 
very  numerous  class  of  readers. 

Again,  many  readers  there  are  who  feel  a  repugnance 
to  every  thing  in  the  form  of  controversy^  and  so  great 
is  their  aversion  that  they  cannot  be  persuaded  to  read 
any  work  like  this  of  Mr.  Fletcher's ;  they  would,  at 
least,  affect  to  regard  it  as  a  quarrel  among  ministers 
about  religion.  In  order  that  such  may  embrace  the 
truth,  it  must  be  presented  in  a  form  which  to  them 
may  seem  less  exceptionable  than  it  usually  is  in 
works  on  controversy. 

The  above  considerations  have  induced  the  compiler 
of  these  extracts  to  undertake  the  present  work.  In  his 
estimation,  no  man  has  more  closely  studied  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  connection  with  their  bearing  on  these 
points  of  doctrine  than  Mr.  Fletcher. 

In  making  these  extracts,  I  have  selected  such  arti- 
cles as  are  deemed  most  interesting  to  the  greater  part 
of  inquirers  after  truth  at  the  present  day.  In  some 
instances  I  have  gathered  the  writer's  remarks  on  one 
subject  from  different  volumes,  and  I  have  united  them 
in  one  chapter.  And  in  many  cases  I  have  made  dis- 
tinct chapters  under  appropriate  heads,  when  they  did 
not  so  exist  before.  My  principal  object  in  the  selection 
and  in  the  arrangement  which  I  have  introduced,  has 


6  BEATTTIES   OP  FLETCHER. 

been  to  present  the  reader  a  very  distinct  view  of  the 
most  important  parts  of  these  controversial  writings, 
consisting  of  essays  and  arguments,  proofs  and  illus- 
trations of  divine  truth.  Here  the  inquirer  after  truth 
will  find  objections  answered,  difficulties  removed,  and 
explanations  of  many  difficult  passages  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. 

On  the  whole,  I  cannot  but  hope  that  the  reader  will 
receive  great  benefit  from  a  careful  perusal  of  the  work 
which  is  here  presented  to  him. 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


CONTENTS. 

Inthoduction, Page  3 

An  historical  sketch  of  the  circumstances  which  gave  rise  to,  and 
were  connected  with  this  controversy, 9 

CHAPTER  I. 
On  the  necessity  of  works. 
Section  i. — Is  it  necessary  that  any  thing  be  done  by  men  in  order 

to  justification  ? 25 

Section  ii. — An  objection  answered, 29 

CHAPTER  n. 
On  the  merit  of  good  works. 
Section  i. — The  rewardableness  of  good  works  illustrated  by  a 

comparison, 31 

Section  ii. — Calvinistic  reasoning  respecting  reprobation  an- 
swered,       -- 34 

Section  hi. — Calvinistic  reprobation  inconsistent  with  the  perfec- 
tions of  God, 40 

An  objection  against  God's  wisdom  answered,        -        -        -        -        44 

CHAPTER  HI. 
An  answer  to  several  Calvinistic  dogmas  respecting  election,         -        44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
On  the  doctrine  of  a  two-fold  justification, 53 

CHAPTER  V. 
Remarks  on  the  state  and  character  of  Judas,        .        .        .        .        qq 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Farther  remarks  on  the  justification  of  infants,       -        -        -        -        69 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  doctrine  of  a  believer's  justification  by  works  reconciled  with 
a  sinner's  justification  by  grace,  -        -        -        -        -        -        72 

CHAPTER  yill. 
Reconciling  concessions  respecting  election  and  reprobation,  76 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  fictitious  and  the  genuine  creed,      -  ....       93 

CHAPTER  X. 

A  Scriptural  essay  on  the  astonishing  rewardableness  of  works 
according  to  the  covenant  of  grace. 

Section  i. — A  variety  of  plain  scriptures,  which  show  that  heaven 
itself  is  the  gracious  reward  of  the  works  of  faith,  and  that  be- 
lievers may  lose  that  reward  by  bad  works,         -        .        .        .       122 

Section  ii. — An  answer  to  the  most  plausible  objections  of  the 

Solifidians  against  this  doctrine, 135 

Section  hi. — Some  reflections  upon  Uie  unreasonableness  of  those 
who  scorn  to  work  with  an  eye  to  the  reward  which  God  offers 
to  excite  us  to  obedience, 156 


8  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
An  essay  on  truth, — Introduction,  -        -        -        •       '  .     ".    \^^  ^^^ 
Section  i. — A  plain  definition  of  saving  faith,  how  believing  is  the 

gift  of  God,  and  whether  it  is  in  our  power  to  believe,        -        -      172 
Section  ii.— Saving  truth  is  the  object  of  saving  faith :  what  truth 
is,  and  what  great  things  are  spoken  of  it.    Our  salvation  turns 

upon  it, 1°^ 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Scripture  scales. 

Section  i.— Three  piiirs  of  gospel  axioms,   -•:'';?? 

Section  n.— The  glory  o(  faith,  and  the  honour  of  works,    -       -      Iwl 

Section  hi. — What  is  God's  work,  and  what  is  our  own,     -        -      196 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
A  rational  and  Scriptural  view  of  St.  Paul's  meaning  in  the  ninth 

chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 207 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The  absurdity  of  supposing  that  there  can  be  any  free  wrath  in  a 

just  and  good  God,      .-.-•----      236 
CHAPTER  XV. 
Mr.  Toplady's  Christian  and  philosophical  necessity  considered,    -      240 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Absurd  consequences  attached  to  error. 
Section  i.— The  elect  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they  will,  and  others 

will  be  damned,  do  what  they  can,       ..----      246 
Section  ii. — Mr.  Toplady's  inquiries  answered,    .        -        -        -      249 

CHAPTER  XVn. 
A  rational  account  of  the  origin  of  evil, 253 

CHAPTER  XVm. 

Difficulties  removed. 
Section  i. — Remarks  on  1  Samuel  ii,  25,      -       -       -       -       -      258 
Section  ii. — Explanation  of  Acts  iv,  27,  28,         ....      259 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
A  caution  against  the  tenet  that  Whatever  is,  is  right,    -        -        -      262 

CHAPTER  XX. 
A  middle  way  between  Calvinian  providence  and  chance,      -        -      268 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Christian  perfection.— Advertisement,    -■■""'  ^^c 

Section  i.— The  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  stated,       -        -  ^76 

Section  II.— Is  Christian  perfection  a  sinless  perfection?     -        -  278 
Section  hi.— Several  plausible  objections  to  Christian  perfection 

&nsw6rcd«    ~        •        ~        ~~"        "        "        "        "        "."  ^^^ 
Section  iv.— The  absurdity  of  saying  that  all  our  perfection  is  in 

Christ, 284 

CHAPTER  XXn. 
OWections  taken  from  Holy  Scripture  answered. 

Section  i.— Exposition  of  1  Kings  viii,  46, ^ 

Section  ii.— Exposition  of  Eccles.  vii,  20, »* 

Section  hi.— Exposition  of  Gal.  v,  17, ^* 

Section  iv.— Exposition  of  Rom.  vii,  14, ^* 

Section  v.- Exposition  of  2  Cor.  xii,  7, f^ 

Section  vi. — Exposition  of  1  John  i,  8, **" 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  mischievousness  of  the  doctrine  of  Christian  imperfection,      -      302 


AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


THE    CIRCUMSTANCES    WHICH    GAVE    RISE    TO,    AND    WERE 
CONNECTED   WITH,  THIS   CONTROVERSY. 


In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1739,  several  persons, 
who  were  deeply  awakened  to  see  their  need  of  salva- 
tion, came  to  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  in  London,  de- 
siring that  he  would  spend  some  time  with  them  in 
prayer,  and  advise  them  how  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  That  he  might  have  more  time  for  this  great 
work,  he  appointed  a  day  in  which  they  might  all  come 
together,  which  from  thenceforth  they  did  every  week. 
Such  inquirers  becoming  quite  numerous,  he  formed 
them  into  classes,  and  gave  them  such  advice  from 
time  to  time  as  he  judged  most  needful  for  them. 
Similar  classes  or  societies  were  soon  formed  in  various 
parts  of  England,  voluntarily  putting  themselves  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  from  among  them 
the  Lord  soon  raised  up  individuals  to  assist  Mr.  Wesley 
in  this  great  work.  Several  of  these  he  hcensed  as 
preachers,  and  they  became  his  regular  helpers  in  pro- 
moting this  blessed  revival  of  pure  reUgion  throughout 
Great  Britain.  These  preachers  used  to  meet  Mr.  Wes- 
ley in  conference  once  a  year,  and  sometimes  oftener, 
to  confer  on  the  most  suitable  means  to  promote  this 
great  work  which  God  had  commenced ;  and  to  receive 
from  Mr.  Wesley  their  appointments  to  their  respective 
fields  of  labour. 


10  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER, 

In  the  year  1770  their  conference  was  held  in  the 
city  of  London ;  and  from  the  Minutes  of  their  con- 
versation the  following  extracts  were  published : — 

"  Take  heed  to  your  doctrine." 

*'  We  said  in  1744,  '  We  have  leaned  too  much  to- 
ward Calvinism.'    Wherein  ? 

"  1.  With  regard  to  man^s  faithfulness.  Our  Lord 
himself  taught  to  use  the  expression,  and  we  ought 
never  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  We  ought  steadily  to  as- 
sert on  his  authority,  that  if  a  man  is  not  faithful  in 
the  unrighteous  mammon,  God  will  not  give  him 
the  true  riches. 

"  2.  With  regard  to  working  for  life,  this  also  our 
Lord  has  expressly  commanded  us.  Labour,  kpyaCeode, 
literally,  work,  for  the  meat  that  endureth  unto  ever- 
lasting life.  And,  in  fact,  every  believer,  till  he  comes 
to  glory,  works  foi'  as  well  as  from  life. 

"  3.  We  have  received  it  as  a  maxim,  that  '  a  man 
is  to  do  nothing  in  order  to  justification  ;' — nothing  can 
be  more  false.  Whoever  desires  to  find  favour  with 
God  should  cease  from  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well. 
Whoever  repents,  should  do  works  meet  for  repent- 
ance. And  if  this  is  not  in  order  to  find  favour,  what 
does  he  do  them  for  ? 

"  Review  the  whole  affair. 

"  1.  Who  of  us  is  now  accepted  of  God  ?  He  that 
now  believes  in  Christ  with  a  loving,  obedient  heart. 

"  2.  But  who  among  those  who  never  heard  of 
Christ?  He  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness according  to  the  light  he  has. 

"  3.  Is  this  the  same  with,  '  He  that  is  sincere  V 
Nearly,  if  not  quite. 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  11 

"  4.  Is  not  this  salvation  by  works  ?  Not  by  the 
merit  of  works,  but  by  works  as  a  condition. 

"  5.  What,  then,  have  we  been  disputing  about  for 
these  thirty  years  ?    I  am  afraid,  about  words. 

"  6.  As  to  merit  itself,  of  which  we  have  been  so 
dreadfully  afraid :  We  are  rewarded  according  to  our 
works,  yea,  because  of  our  works.  How  does  this 
differ  from,  for  the  sake  of  our  works?  And  how 
differs  this  from  secundum  merita  operum  7 — As  our 
works  deserve  7  Can  you  split  this  hair?  I  doubt,  I 
.  cannot. 

"7.  The  grand  objections  to  one  of  the  preceding 
propositions  are  drawn  from  matter  of  fact.  God  does, 
in  fact,  justify  those  who,  by  their  own  confession,  nei- 
ther feared  God  nor  wrought  righteousness.  Is  this  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule  ?  It  is  a  doubt,  God  makes 
any  exception  at  all.  But  how  are  we  sure  that  the 
person  in  question  never  did  fear  God  and  work  right- 
eousness? His  own  saying  so  is  no  proof:  for  we  know 
how  all  that  are  convinced  of  sin  undervalue  them- 
selves in  every  thing. 

"  8.  Does  not  talking  of  a  justified  or  sanctified  state 
tend  to  mislead  men  ?  Almost  naturally  leading  them 
to  trust  in  what  was  done  in  one  moment?  Whereas 
we  are  every  hour  and  every  moment  pleasing  or  dis- 
pleasing to  God,  according  to  our  ?<?orA-.?,— according 
to  the  whole  of  our  inward  tempers  and  our  outward 
behaviour." 

The  publication  of  the  above  extracts  from  the  Min- 
utes gave  great  oflTence  to  the  enemies  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
and  also  to  several  clergymen.  Among  these  was  the 
Honourable  and  Reverend  Walter  Shirley.  This  gen- 
tleman addressed  a  printed  circular  to  several  persons, 


12  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

both  clergy  and  laity,  inviting  them  to  meet  at  Bristol 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Wesley's  next  conference,  which  was 
to  be  held  at  that  place,  and  to  go  in  a  body  to  said 
conference  and  insist  on  a  formal  recantation  of  the 
said  Minutes ;  and  in  case  of  a  refusal,  that  they  sign 
and  publish  their  protest  against  them.  This  circular 
denounced  these  Minutes  as  injurious  to  the  very  fun- 
damental principles  of  Christianity,  and  as  dreadful 
heres?/. 

Mr.  Shirley  desired  those  gentlemen  whose  conve- 
nience it  might  not  suit  to  be  present,  to  transmit  their 
sentiments  on  the  subject  to  such  person  as  they  should 
think  proper  to  produce  them.  One  of  these  circulars 
was  sent  to  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher,  vicar  of  Madely,  one  of 
the  most  holy  and  devoted  men  in  the  nation.  By 
means  of  this  circular  his  attention  was  turned  to  these 
obnoxious  Minutes;  and  on  carefully  comparing  the 
doctrines  which  they  contained  with  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  Articles  and  Homilies  of  the  Church  of 
England,  he  could  not  discover  that  "  dreadful  heresy''' 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Shirley  ;  nor  could  he  perceive  any 
thing  in  them  injurious  to  the  '^'•fundamental  prin- 
ciples''' of  Christianity.  Instead,  therefore,  of  uniting 
with  Mr.  Shirley  and  "  other  Christian  friends,  clergy 
and  laity,  as  well  of  the  dissenters  as  of  the  established 
Cliurch,"  as  had  l>een  proposed,  he  addressed  a  series 
of  letters  to  Mr.  Shiriey,  to  be  laid  before  the  "  principal 
persons,  both  clergy  and  laity,"  whom  he  had  invited 
from  all  parts  of  England  and  Wales. 

In  these  letters  Mr.  Fletcher  undertakes  three  things, 
viz. — 

I.  To  give  a  general  view  of  the  doctrines  wliich 
Mr.  Wesley  believed  and  preached : 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  13 

II.  An  account  of  the  commendable  design  of  the 
Minutes:  and, 

III.  A  vindication  of  the  propositions  which  they 
contain. 

In  giving  a  general  view  of  Mr.  Wesley's  doctrines, 
he  remarks,  that  he  had  frequently  heard  Mr.  Wesley 
preach  in  his  chapels,  and  sometimes  in  his  own  church  ; 
that  he  had  familiarly  conversed  with  him,  often  cor- 
responded with  him,  and  had  perused  his  numerous 
works  in  verse  and  prose,  and  knew  that  he  had,  for 
■  these  sixteen  years  past,  steadily  maintained  the  fall  of 
man  in  Adam,  and  his  utter  inability  to  jecover  him- 
self; that  the  deepest  expressions  that  ever  struck  his 
ears  on  the  melancholy  subject  of  natural  depravity  and 
helplessness,  are  those  which  dropped  from  Mr.  Wesley ; 
and  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  in  the  habit  of  pointing  out 
Christ  as  the  only  way  of  salvation,  and  faith  as  the 
only  way  of  receiving  him,  and  the  benefits  of  his 
righteousness  and  meritorious  death. 

Mr.  Fletcher  remarks,  that  the  next  fundamental 
doctrine  of  Christianity  is  that  of  holiness  of  heart  and 
life  ;  and  insists  that  no  one  could  accuse  Mr.  Wesley 
of  leaning  to  the  Antinomian  delusion,  which  makes 
void  the  law  through  a  speculative  and  barren  faith. 
On  this  subject  he  shows  wherein  Mr.  Wesley  agiees 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  shows  also  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley holds  the  doctrine  of  general  redemption  in  a  Scrip- 
tural manner:  and  that  in  these  views  he  perfectly 
agrees  with  the  doctrine  of  the  established  Church, 
which  declares  that  Christ  redeemed  all  mankind,  and 
that  he  made  upon  the  cross  afidl^  perfect,  and  suffi- 
cient sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins 
of  the  ichole  icorld.     And  that  Mr.  Wesley,  in  his 


14  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

preaching,  never  loses  sight  of  these  two  gospel  axioms, 
viz.,  that  all  our  salvation  is  of  God  in  Christ,  and 
therefore  of  grace, — all  opportunities,  invitations,  in- 
clinations, and  power  to  believe,  being  bestowed  upon 
U3  by  mere  grace.  And  that  all  our  damnation  is  of 
ourselves,  by  ouV  obstinate  unbelief,  and  our  avoidable 
unfaithfulness,  or  incorrigible  impenitence. 

After  having  distinctly  stated  the  doctrines  to  which 
Mr.  Wesley  had  subscribed  as  a  minister  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  which  he  was  in  the  constant  habit 
of  promulgating  both  in  public  and  private,  Mr. 
Fletcher  proceeds  to  show  the  commendable  design  of 
the  Minutes,  and  to  vindicate  the  propositions  which 
they  contain. 

Respecting  the  Minutes,  Mr.  Fletcher  remarks,  that 
such  was  the  force  of  prejudice  and  attachments  to  par- 
ticular modes  of  expression,  that  at  first  they  appeared 
to  him  very  unguarded,  if  not  altogether  erroneous ;  but 
when  the  din  of  severe  epithets  bestowed  upon  them  by 
some  of  his  warm  friends  was  out  of  his  ears — when 
he  had  prayed  to  the  Father  of  lights  for  meekness  of 
wisdom,  and  had  given  place  to  calm  reflection — he 
saw  them  in  quite  a  different  light.  "When  he  consi- 
dered the  circumstances  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  and  the 
preachers  in  connection  with  him  were  placed,  he  could 
not  help  seeing  that  it  was  necessary  to  guard  them 
and  their  hearers  against  Antinomian  principles  and 
practices,  which  spread  like  wildfire  in  some  of  his  so- 
cieties. There  were  many  who  spoke  in  the  most  glo- 
rious manner  of  Christ  and  their  interest  in  his  com- 
plete salvation,  and  at  tlie  same  time  were  living  in  the 
grossest  immoralities,  or  indulging  the  most  unchristian 
tempers. 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER,  15 

Under  these  circumstances  Mr,  Wesley  cries  ont, 
"  Take  heed  to  your  doctrineP  As  if  he  had  said, 
"  Avoid  all  extremes :  while,  on  the  one  hand,  you  keep 
clear  from  Pharisaic  delusion  that  slights  Christ,  see 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  you  do  not  run  into  the  Anti- 
nomian  error,  which,  under  pretence  of  exalting  Christ, 
speaks  contemptibly  of  obedience,  and  makes  '■  void  the 
law'  through  a  faith  which  does  not  'work  by  love,'" 

Mr.  Fletcher  clearly  shows  that  it  was  Mr.  Wesley's 
design,  in  these  Minutes,  to  guard  his  preachers,  and 
the  numerous  societies  under  his  care,  against  "  lean- 
ing too  much  to  Calvinism^''  on  the  one  hand,  and  too 
much  to  Pharisaism  on  the  other :  and  for  this  purpose 
advises  them  to  "  review  the  whole  affair."  In  doing 
tliis  he  establishes  four  things,  viz.:  that  those  only 
who  are  under  the  gospel  dispensation  are  accepted  of 
God,  who  now  believe  in  Christ  with  a  loving,  obedient 
heart — that  among  those  who  never  heard  of  Christ, 
they  that  fear  God  and  work  righteousness  according 
to  the  light  they  have  are  also  accepted  and  saved — 
that  this  salvation  is  not  by  the  merit  of  works,  but  by 
works  only  as  a  condition — and  that  in  these  points  of 
doctrine  Mr.  Wesley  is  perfectly  consistent  with  him- 
self 

The  Vindication  of  these  Mimctes  consisted  oi  Jive 
letters,  addressed,  as  we  have  said,  to  the  Hon.  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Shirley.  Whether  they  exerted  any  influence 
on  Mr.  Shirley  and  his  friends  in  relation  to  their  con- 
duct at  the  meeting  of  Mr.  Wesley's  next  conference, 
we  cannot  say ;  but  it  is  certainly  due  to  Mr.  Shirley  to 
say,  that  on  that  occasion  his  conduct  was  much  like 
a  minister  of  the  Prince  of  peace.  At  the  conference 
there  were  such  explanations  made  as  to  prevent  any 


16  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

"  formal  protest,"  or  insisting  on  a  "  formal  recantation" 
of  the  Minutes. 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  prevailed  on  to  furnish  a  copy  of 
these  letters  for  publication.  To  their  publication  Mr. 
Shirley  was  quite  opposed :  and  by  some  of  his  friends 
it  was  represented  as  an  act  of  injustice,  inasmuch  as 
Mr.  Shirley's  subsequent  conduct  was  so  highly  credit- 
able to  him  in  the  matter  above  alluded  to.  Mr. 
Fletcher  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Shirley,  in  which  he 
acknowledged  his  pleasure  at  the  results  of  the  confer- 
ence, and  expressed  his  willingness  that  the  pubUcation 
of  his  letters  should  be  suppressed ;  but  remarked  that, 
whether  his  letters  were  suppressed  or  not,  he  thought 
the  doctrines  contained  in  the  Minutes  must  be  vindi- 
cated— that  Mr.  Wesley  owed  it  to  tlie  Church,  to  all 
real  Protestants,  to  all  his  societies,  atid  to  his  own 
aspersed  character.  Indeed,  such  was  the  modesty  of 
Mr.  Fletcher,  and  such  his  love  of  peace,  that  he  wrote 
to  the  gentleman  concerned  in  the  publication  of  his 
letters,  that  if  he  would  stop  it,  he  would  take  the  whole 
expense  of  the  publication  on  himself,  though  it  should 
oblige  him  to  sell  his  last  shirt  to  defray  it.  But  Mr. 
Fletcher's  friends,  and  the  friends  of  those  doctrines 
tliey  so  ably  vindicated,  prized  these  letters  too  highly 
to  allow  them  to  be  suppressed.  They  were  well  aware 
that  these  letters  would  be  eminently  useful  in  stemming 
the  tide  of  error,  and  in  establishing  the  truth. 

In  reply  to  these  letters  Mr.,  Shirley  published  a 
"  Narrative,"  This  gave  occasion  to  Mr.  Fletcher  once 
more  to  take  up  his  pen.  He  published  a  "  Second 
Check  to  Antinomianism,"  in  three  letters,  addressed  to 
the  honourable  and  reverend  author  of  the  "  Narrative." 
He  makes  no  complaint  of  any  severity  used  in  the 


BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER.  17 

"Narrative,"  but  acknowledges  that,  considering  the 
sharpness  of  his  fifth  letter,  the  "  Narrative"  was  kinder 
than  he  had  reason  to  expect.  But  he  complained  that 
the  author  had  wronged  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  fifty-three 
preachers  united  with  him  in  conference,  by  insinu- 
ating, if  not  directly  asserting,  that  they  had  given  up 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  works  in  the  day  of 
judgment.  Mr.  Fletcher  insists  on  it,  that  so  many 
judicious  and  good  men  could  never  so  betray  the  cause 
of  practical  religion  as  tamely  to  renounce  a  truth  of  so 
great  importance.  After  showing  distinctly  what  is 
meant  by  those  who  hold  to  justification  by  works  in 
the  day  of  judgment,  viz.,  by  works  as  an  evidence,  he 
proceeds  to  maintain  this  doctrine  by  a  great  variety  of 
passages  found  in  the  sayings  of  our  Lord  and  other 
inspired  teachers.  His  arguments  are  classed  under 
five  distinct  heads ;  and  he  notices  and  answers  no  less 
than  ten  objections  which  are  usually  raised  against 
this  doctrine. 

It  appears  that  Mr.  Shirley  had,  some  time  before, 
published  a  volume  of  sermons,  from  which  Mr.  Fletcher 
had  made  large  quotations  in  support  of  the  doc- 
trines contained  in  die  Minutes.  Mr.  Shirley,  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  the  arguments  drawn  from  this  source, 
had,  in  the  "  Narrative,"  made  a  public  recantation  of 
the  sermons.  In  Mr.  Fletcher's  second  letter  of  this 
new  series,  he  expostulates  with  him  for  renouncing  so 
many  truths  as  were  contained  in  those  sermons.  He 
compares  Mr.  Shirley  with  the  Dutch,  in  their  last  ef- 
forts to  balance  the  victory  and  secure  the  field.  When 
they  were  pressed  by  the  French,  rather  tlian  yield, 
they  break  their  dikes,  let  in  the  sea  upon  themselves, 
and  lay  all  their  fine  gardens  and  rich  pastures  under 


IS  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

water.  Mr.  Fletcher  expresses  great  regret  that  Mr. 
Shirley  had  not  been  as  prudent  £is  they,  who,  before 
laying  their  country  waste,  saved  all  their  valuable  goods 
which  they  could.  He  also  notices  a  number  of  mis- 
statements made  in  the  "  Narrative"  by  this  honourable 
and  reverend  gentleman  in  reference  to  the  "  Vindica- 
tion." He  closes  this  letter  by  assuring  Mr.  Shirley  of 
his  dislike  to  controversy.  "  I  no  more  Uke  it,"  says  he, 
"  than  I  do  applying  a  caustic  on  the  back  of  my  fiiends ; 
it  is  disagreeable  to  me,  and  painful  to  them ;  neverthe- 
less it  must  be  done  when  their  health  and  mine  is  at 
stake." 

To  this  Second  Check  Mr.  Shirley  made  no  reply; 
but  Richard  Hill,  Esq.,  seconded  the  opposition  which 
Mr.  Shirley  had  raised  agamst  Mr.  Wesley's  Minutes. 
This  gentleman  appears  to  have  possessed  talents  equal 
to  Mr.  Shirley,  but  he  did  not  possess  as  amiable  a  dis- 
position. He  published  five  letters,  addressed  to  Mr. 
Fletcher,  entitled,  "Pietas  Oxiensis,  or,  Oxford 
Piety.'''  To  these  Mr.  Fletcher  replied  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  honourable  author.  As  these  letters 
were  written  from  a  concern  for  "  mourning  hack- 
sliders,'''  so  the  answer  originated  from  a  fear  lest  Dr. 
Crisp's  balm  should  be  applied  to  such  instead  of  the 
hcdm  of  Gilead. 

Mr.  Hill  does  Mr.  Wesley  the  justice  to  acknowledge 
that  "  man's  faithfulness"  is  an  expression  which  may 
be  used  in  a  sober  gospel  sense;  and  Mr.  Fletcher 
shows  that  this  is  the  sense  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  and 
all  sober  men  wish  to  use  it.  Mr.  Hill  not  only  attacks 
Mr.  Wesley's  Minutes,  but  also  the  Vindication  :  it 
therefore  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Fletcher  to  defend 
the  Vindication.     To  the  numerous  objections  brought 


BEAUTIES  OP  FLETCHER.  19 

by  Mr.  Hill  against  the  doctrines  here  vindicated,  and 
the  many  arguments  he  had  introduced  in  favour  of 
the  peculiar  dogmas  of  Calvinism,  Mr.  Fletcher  answers 
in  a  very  masterly  manner.  He  follows  Mr.  Hill 
through  all  his  refined  subtleties  of  reasoning  and  sar- 
castic sneers  with  which  his  letters  abound,  in  a  manner 
which  does  great  credit  to  his  head  and  his  heart. 

In  reply  to  this  letter  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  Mr.  Hill  pub- 
lished six  letters  addressed  to  Mr.  Fletcher.  These  let- 
ters gave  occasion  to  Mr.  Fletcher's  Third  Check  to 
Antinomianism.  He  compares  these  letters  to  a  storm 
of  hail  pouring  down  from  the  lowering  sky,  ushered 
by  some  harmless  flashes  of  lightning,  and  accompa- 
nied by  the  rumbhng  of  distant  thunder. 

About  the  same  time  Mr.  Rowland  Hill,  fellow  of 
Clare-Hall,  Cambridge,  came  to  the  aid  of  his  honour- 
able brother.  He  published  a  «  Review  of  Mr.  Fletcher's 
Vindication,"  in  what  he  called  "  Friendly  Remarks." 
To  these  gentlemen  Mr.  Fletcher  addressed  thirteen 
letters,  entitled  Logica  Genevensis,  i.  e.,  Geneva 
Logic,  or  Fourth  Check  to  Antinomianism. 

To  this  Fourth  Check,  Mr.  Richard  HiU,  Esq.,  replied 
in  a  work  entitled  «  The  Finishing  Stroke."  In 
this  he  attempts  to  screen  his  mistakes,  by  presenting  a 
wrong  view  of  the  controversy,  and  endeavours  to  show 
that  his  scheme  differs  from  Antinomianism.  About 
the  same  time.  Rev.  Mr,  Berriage  published  a  work 
designed  to  attack  sincere  obedience,  and  justification 
by  works  and  not  by  faith  only.  These  pubhcations 
gave  rise  to  the  Fifth  Check  to  Antinomianism,  a 
work  equal  in  character  to  either  of  the  preceding  which 
had  dropped  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Fletcher. 

Although  Mr.  HiU  had  given  the  "finishing  stroke," 


20  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

as  he  supposed,  to  the  doctrines  of  Arminianism  and 
its  vindicator,  he  found  his  antagonist  yet  in  the  field, 
having  so  skilfully  warded  off  the  "  stroke,"  that  the 
doctrines  of  Arminianism  were  gaining  ground  in  pub- 
he  opinion.  He  therefore  thought  proper  to  take  up  his 
pen  once  more,  and  addressed  three  letters  to  Mr.  Fletch- 
er, to  which  was  appended  a  creed  for  Arminians  and 
Perfectionists,  which  he  introduces  in  these  words :  "  The 
following  confession  of  faith,  however  shocking,  not  to 
say  blasphemous,  it  may  appear  to  the  humble  Chris- 
tian, must  inevitably  be  adopted  by  every  Arminian 
and  Perfectionist  whatsoever."  This  fictitious  creed, 
consisting  of  ten  articles,  received  an  answer  from  Mr. 
Fletcher,  in  which  he  showed  that  neither  of  these  ar- 
ticles need  to  be  believed  by  Mr.  Wesley,  Mr.  Sellon,  or 
himself,  whose  initials  the  writer  had  subjoined,  nor  by 
any  others  who  believed  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Min- 
utes, or  their  Vindication.  To  this  fictitious  creed  he 
opposes  a  genuine  creed  for  those  who  believed  that 
Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man.  And  this  creed  he 
supports  by  the  Holy  Scripture. 

It  seemed  to  be  the  design  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  oppo- 
nents to  fasten  consequences  on  the  doctrines  contained 
in  the  Vindication  which  are  calculated  to  undermine 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  They  insist  that  Arminian- 
ism leads  to  Pharisaism.  To  this  charge,  on  which 
they  so  constantly  insisted,  Mr.  Fletcher  published  a 
work  entitled,  "  An  Equal  Check  to  Pharisaism  and 
Antinomianism."  This  consisted  of  an  historical  essay 
on  the  danger  of  parting  faith  and  works, — a  Scrip- 
tural essay  on  the  astonishing  rewardableness  of  works 
according  to  the  covenant  of  grace, — a  rational  vindi- 
cation of  the  doctrine  of  saVation  by  faith,— and  a 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  21 

dedicatory  epistle  to  the  right  honourable,  the  Countess 
of  Huntingdon. 

After  the  publication  of  the  Equal  Check,  Mr.  Hill 
found  it  necessary  to  give  a  "  Second  Finishing  Stroke," 
to  which  he  appends  "  reasons  for  declining  any  farther 
controversy  respecting  Mr.  Wesley's  principles."  He 
quits  the  field  hke  a  brave  Parthian.  He  shoots  his 
own  arrows  as  he  retires,  and  borrows  those  of  two  gen- 
tlemen whom  he  calls,  "  a  very  eminent  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England,"  and  "  a  lay  gentleman  of  great 
learning  and  abiUties."  In  this  work  he  does  little  else 
than  repeat  the  same  things  he  had  said  in  his  former 
work.  He  treats  Mr.  Fletcher  and  Mr.  OUvers  with 
great  contempt.  He  notifies  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  he 
would  not  in  future  look  into  any  of  his  books  if  he 
should  write  a  thousand.  And  as  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Olivers,  who  certainly  was  a  writer  of  no  mean  talents, 
"  I  shall  not,"  says  he,  "  take  the  least  notice  of  him, 
or  read  a  hue  of  his  composition,  any  more  than  if  I 
were  travelling  on  the  road,  I  should  stop  to  lash,  or 
even  order  my  footman  to  lash,  every  impertinent  little 
quadruped  in  a  village  that  should  come  out  and  bark 
at  me."  This  specimen  will  serve  to  show  the  spirit 
of  some  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  opponents. 

In  reply  to  this  Second  Finishing  Stroke,  and  the  let- 
ters accompanying  it,  Mr.  Fletcher  wrote  his  Zelotes 
and  HoNESTus  reconciled,  or  the  second  part  to  an 
Equal  Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism,  being 
the  first  part  of  the  Scripture  Scales.  This  is  a  most 
admirable  work,  well  calculated  to  throw  light  on  the 
plan  of  salvation,  and  to  assist  in  understanding  many 
dark  and  diflScult  passages  of  Holy  Scripture.  His 
scales  are  well  calculated  to  weigh  the  gold  of  gospel 


22  BEAUTIES   OF    FLETCHER. 

truth.  la  them  he  balances  a  multitude  of  opposite 
scriptures,  and  thereby  unites  free  grace  in  God, 
and  FREE  WILL  in  man. 

After  this  reply,  Mr.  Hill  was  as  good  as  his  word,  for 
it  appears  that  he  published  nothing  more  on  the  sub- 
ject. But  he  had  scarcely  quit  the  field  of  controversy, 
when  another  warrior,  clad  in  armour,  thought  proper 
to  make  his  appearance  in  defence  of  the  peculiarities 
of  Calvinism.  This  was  Rev.  Mr.  Toplady.  He  pub- 
lished his  "  Scheme  of  Chiistian  Philosophical  Neces- 
sity, asserted  in  Opposition  to  Mr,  Wesley's  Tracts  on 
that  Subject,"  and  his  "  Vindication  of  the  Decrees." 
The  spirit  with  which  this  reverend  gentlemen  wrote 
did  not  reflect  much  honour  on  him,  either  as  a  Chris- 
tian or  a  gentleman. 

To  this  work  Mr.  Fletcher  wrote  a  reply,  in  which 
he  shows  that  Mr.  Toplady's  scheme  represents  God 
as  the  cause  of  all  sin  and  damnation.  Against  this 
scheme  he  brings  forward  fourteen  arguments ;  and 
in  a  very  clear  manner  he  answers  the  capital  objections 
of  the  necessitarians  to  the  doctrine  of  liberty.  His 
answer  to  Mr.  Toplady's  "  Vindicatian  of  the  Decrees" 
will  richly  repay  the  reader,  if  he  be  an  inquirer  after 
truth.    He  cannot  fail  to  be  edified. 

This  reply  to  the  principal  arguments  by  which  the 
Calvinists  and  fatalists  support  the  doctrine  of  "abso- 
lute necessity"  silenced  these  reverend  and  honourable 
gentleman.  It  was  a  "  finishing  stroke"  to  them.  Mr. 
Fletcher,  however,  added  to  his  numerous  publications, 
the  "  Last  Check  to  Antinomianism."  This  is  "  A  po- 
lemical Essay  on  the  twin  Doctrines  of  Christian  Im- 
perfection and  a  death  Purgatory."  In  this  essay  he 
vindicates  the  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection,  or  evan- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  23 

gelical  holiness.  In  his  preface  he  says,  "  When  a  late 
fellow  of  Clare-HaU,  Cambridge,  attacked  the  doctrine 
of  sincere  obedience,  which  I  defend  in  the  Checks 
he  said  with  great  truth,  '  Sincere  obedience,  as  a  con- 
dition, wHl  lead  you  unavoidably  up  to  perfect  obe- 
dience: What  he  urged  as  an  argument  ag-ainst  our 
views  of  the  gospel,  is  one  of  the  reasons  by  which  we 
defend  them,  and  perhaps  the  strongest  of  all;  for  our 
doctrine  leads  as  naturally  to  holiness  and  perfect  obe- 
dience, as  that  of  our  opponents  does  to  sin  and  imper- 
fection." 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF  WORKS. 

SECTION  I. 

IS    IT  NECESSARY  THAT   ANY  THING   BE    DONE    BY    MEN    IN 
ORDER   TO   JUSTIFICATION  ? 

Mr.  Wesley  said,  in  the  Minutes  alluded  to,  "  We 
have  received  it  as  a  maxim,  that  a  man  is  to  do  no- 
thing '  in  order  to  justification.'  Nothing  can  be  more 
false.  Whoever  desires  to  find  favour  with  God,  should 
cease  from  evil  and  learn  to  do  well.  Whoever  re- 
pents, should  do  works  meet  for  repentance.  And  if 
this  be  not  in  order  to  find  favour,  what  does  he  do 
them  for  ?" 

By  justification  he  does  not  mean  that  general  be- 
nevolence of  our  merciful  God,  manifested  in  the  atone- 
ment ;  this  is  certainly  previous  to  any  thing  we  can 
do  to  find  it.  Much  less  does  he  mean  what  Dr.  Crisp 
calls  eternal  justification.  But  the  justification  of 
which  he  speaks,  is  either  that  public  and  final  justifi- 
cation which  our  Lord  mentions  in  the  gospel,  when 
he  says,  "  By  thy  words  thou  shalt  he  justified^^  allu- 
ding to  the  day  of  judgment :  or  he  means  the  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  and  the  witness  of  it.  This  is  what  Mr. 
Wesley  and  St.  Paul  generally  mean  by  justification. 

And  now,  do  not  Scripture,  common  sense,  and  ex- 
perience, show  that  something  m,ust  he  done  in  order 

2 


26  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

to  attain  and  Jind,  though  not  to  merit  and  purchase 
this  justification  ? 

1.  Please  to  answer  the  following  questions,  founded 
upon  the  express  declarations  of  God's  word.  To  him 
that  ordereth  his  conversation  aright  will  I  show  the 
salvation  of  God.  Is  ordering  our  conversation  aright, 
doing  nothing?  Repent  ye  and  he  converted^  that 
your  sins  may  he  blotted  out.  Are  repentance  and 
conversion  nothing  ?  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  are 
heavy  laden,  and  Iicillgive  you  rest,— I  will  justify 
you.  Is  coming  doing  nothing  ?  Cease  to  do  evil, 
learn  to  do  well.  Come  now,  let  us  reason  together, 
and  though  your  sins  be  red  as  crimson,  they  shall 
be  white  as  snow, — you  shall  be  justified.  Is  ceasing 
to  do  evil,  and  learning  to  do  tvell,  doing  nothing? 
Seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  hefmmd,  call  upon  him 
while  he  is  near.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him 
return  unto  the  Lord,  who  will  have  mercy  upon  him, 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  loill  abundantly  pardon. 
Is  seeking,  calling,  forsaking  one's  way,  and  return- 
ing to  the  Lord,  a  mere  nothing  ?  Ask,  and  you  shall 
receive;  seek,  and  you  shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall 
be  opened  unto  you.  Yea,  take  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven by  force.  Is  seeking,  asking,  knocking,  and 
taking  by  force,  absolutely  nothing?  When  you  have 
answered  these  questions,  I  will  throw  one  or  two  hun- 
dred more  of  the  like  kind  in  your  way. 

Let  us  now  see  if  reason  is  not  for  Mr.  Wesley,  as 
well  as  Scripture.  Do  you  not  maintain  that  believing 
is  necessary  in  order  to  our  justification  ?  If  you  do, 
you  subscribe  to  Mr.  Wesley's  heresy  ;  for  believing  is 
not  only  doing  something,  but  necessarily  supposes  a 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLfiTCHEBi.  '^ 

variety  of  things.  Faith  cometh  hy  hedtin^,  arid 
sometimes  by  reading,  which  implies  attending  the  mi- 
nistry of  the  word,  and  searching  the  Scriptures,  as  the 
Bereans  did.  It  likewise  presupposes  at  least  the  atten- 
tion of  the  mind,  and  consent  of  the  heart,  to  a  revealed 
truth ;  or  the  consideration,  approbation,  and  receii'ing 
an  object  proposed  to  us :  nay,  it  implies  renouncirig 
worldly,  and  seeking  divine  honour.  What  a  variety 
of  things  is  therefore  implied  in  believing^  which  we 
cannot  but  acknowledge  to  be  previous  to  justification  ! 
Who  can  then  blame  Mr.  Wesley  for  saying  some- 
thing must  be  done  in  order  to  justification  1 

Again,  if  nothing  be  required  of  us  in  order  to  justi- 
fication, who  can  find  fault  with  those  that  die  in  a  state 
of  condemnation  ?  They  were  born  in  sin,  and  chil- 
dren of  wrath,  and  nothing  was  required  of  them  in 
order  to  find  favour:  it  remains,  therefore,  that  they  are 
damned,  through  an  absolute  decree,  made  thousands 
of  years  before  they  had  any  existence  !  If  some  can 
swallow  this  camel  with  the  greatest  ease,  I  doubt,  sir, 
it  will  not  go  down  with  you,  without  bearing  very 
hard  upon  the  knowledge  you  have  of  the  God  of  love, 
and  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 

Once  more :  Mr.  Wesley  concludes  his  proposition 
with  a  very  pertinent  question  : — "  When  a  man  that  i^ 
not  justified,  does  works  meet  for  repentance,  what 
does  he  do  them  for  ?"  Permit  me  to  answer  it  accord- 
ing to  Scripture  and  common  sense.  If  he  do  them  in 
order  to  purchase  the  divine  favour,  he  is  under  a  self- 
righteous  delusion  ;  but  if  he  do  them,  as  Mr.  W.  says, 
in  order  to  find  what  Christ  has  purchased  for  him,  he 
acts  the  part  of  a  wise  Protestant. 

Should  you  say  that  such  a  penitent  does  ^orks  ttieet 


28     '  BEAUTIES  OF   FLETCHER. 

for  repentance  from  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  redeeming 
love,  I  answer,  This  is  impossible ;  for  that  love  must  be 
shed  abroad  in  his  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  him, 
in  consequence  of  his  justification,  before  he  can  act 
from  a  sense  of  that  love,  and  the  gratitude  which  it 
excites.     I  hope  it  is  no  heresy  to  maintain  that  the 
cause  must  go  before  the  effect.     I  conclude,  then,  that 
those  who  have  not  yet  found  the  pardoning  love  of 
God,  do  works  meet  for  repentance  in  order  to  find  it. 
They  abstam  firom  those  outward  evils  which  once  they 
pursued ;  they  do  the  outward  good  which  the  convinc- 
ing Spirit  prompts  them  to ;  they  use  the  means  of 
grace,  confess  their  sins,  and  ask  pardon  for  them ;  in 
short,  they  seek  the  Lord,  encouraged  by  that  promise : 
They  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me.     And  Mr. 
W.  supposes  they  seek  in  order  to  find.     In  the  name 
of  candom-,  where  is  the  harm  of  that  supposition  ? 
When  the  poor  woman  has  lost  her  piece  of  silver, 
she  lights  a  candle,  says  our  Lord,  she  sweeps  the 
house  and  searches  diligently  till  she  find  it.   Mr.  W. 
asks,  If  she  does  not  do  all  this  in  order  to  find  it, 
what  does  she  do  it  for?     At  this  the  alarm  is  taken, 
and  the  post  carries  through  various  provinces  printed 
letters  against  old  Mordecai,  and  a  synod  is  called  toge- 
ther to  protest  againt  the  dreadful  error. 

Having  defended  Mr.  W.'s  proposition,  from  Scripture 
and  from  common  sense,  that  whoever  desires  to  find 
favour  with  God,  must  cease  to  do  evil,  and  learn  to 
do  well,  permit  me  also  to  do  it  from  experience.  And 
here  I  might  appeal  to  the  most  established  persons  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  societies;  but  as  their  testimony  may 
have  little  weight  with  you,  I  waive  it,  and  appeal  to 
all  the  accounts  of  sound  conversions  that  have  been 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  29 

published  since  Calvin's  days.  Show  me  one,  sir, 
wherein  it  appears  that  a  mourner  in  Sion  found  the 
above-described  justification,  without  doing  some  pre- 
vious works  meet  for  repentance.  If  you  cannot  pro- 
duce one  such  instance,  Mr.  Wesley's  doctrine  is  sup- 
ported by  the^rm^erf  experiences  of  all  the  converted 
Calvinists,  as  well  as  all  the  beUevers  in  his  own  socie- 
ties. Nor  am  I  afraid  to  appeal  even  to  the  experiences 
of  all  your  own  friends.  If  any  one  of  these  can  say, 
with  a  good  conscience,  that  he  found  the  above  de- 
scribed justification  without  first  stopping  in  the  career 
of  outward  sin,  without  praying,  seeking,  and  confess- 
ing his  guilt  and  misery,  I  promise  to  give  up  the  Min- 
utes. But  if  none  can  make  such  a  declaration,  you 
must  grant,  sir,  that  experience  is  on  Mr.  Wesley's  side 
as  much  as  reason  and  revelation. 


SECTION    II. 
AN   OBJECTION  ANSWERED, 


If  we  must  do  something  in  order  to  justification, 
farewell  itee  justification ;  it  is  no  more  of  grace  hut 
of  works,  and  consequently  of  debt. 

Answer.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  affirm 
that  when  something  is  required  to  be  done  in  order  to 
receive  a  favour,  the  favour  loses  the  name  of  a  free 
gift,  and  directly  becomes  a  debt.  Long,  too  long,  per- 
sons who  have  more  honesty  than  wisdom,  have  been 
frightened  from  the  plain  path  of  duty  by  a  phantom 
of  their  own  making.  O  may  the  snare  break  at  last ! 
And  why  should  it  not  break  noio  7  Have  not  sophisms 
been  wire-drawn,  till  they  break  of  themselves  in  the 


fO  MlVtlSB  0¥  FLETCHER. 

«ght  of  attentive  spectators  ?  I  say  to  two  beggars,  Hold 
out  your  hand ;  here  is  an  ahns  for  you.  The  one 
Gomplies,  and  the  other  refuses.  Who  in  the  world  will 
dsu-e  to  say  that  my  charity  is  no  more  a  free  gift,  be- 
cause 1  bestow  it  only  upon  the  man  that  held  out  his 
hand  1  Will  Nothing  make  it  free  but  my  wrenching 
his  hand  open,  or  forcing  my  bounty  down  his  throat? 
Again :  the  king  says  to  four  rebels,  Throw  down  your 
arras ;  surrender,  and  you  shall  have  a  place  both  in 
my  fevour  and  at  court.  One  of  them  obeys,  and  be- 
comes a  great  man ;  the  others,  upon  refusal,  are  caught 
and  hanged.  What  sophister  will  face  me  down,  that 
the  pardon  and  place  of  the  former  are  not  freely  be- 
stowed upon  him,  because  he  did  something  in  order  to 
obtain  them  ? 

Once  more:  the  God  of  providence  says.  If  you 
plough,  sow,  harrow,  fence,  and  weed  your  fields,  I  will 
give  the  increase,  and  you  shall  have  a  crop.  Farmers 
obey ;  and  are  they  to  believe  that,  because  they  do  so 
many  things  toward  their  harvest,  it  is  not  the  free  gift 
of  Heaven  ?  Do  not  all  those  who  fear  God  know  that 
their  ground,  seed,  cattle,  strength,  yea,  and  their  very 
life,  are  the  gifts  of  God  ?  Does  not  this  prevent  their 
claiming  a  crop  as  a  debt?  and  make  them  confess, 
that  though  it  was  suspended  on  their  ploughing,  sowing, 
harrowing,  &c.,  it  is  the  unmerited  bounty  of  Heaven  ? 

Apply  this  to  the  present  case,  and  you  will  see  that 
our  doing  something  in  order  to  justification  does 
not  in  the  least  hinder  it  from  being  a  free  gift ;  be- 
cause, whatever  we  do  in  order  to  it,  we  do  it  by  the 
grace  of  God  preventing  us,  that  we  may  have  a  good 
will,  and  working  with  us  when  we  have  that  good 
will ;   all  being  of  free,  most  absolutely  free  grace, 


BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER.  31 

through  the  merits  of  Christ.  And  nevertheless,  so 
sure  as  the  farmer,  in  the  appointed  ways  of  Providence, 
shall  have  no  harvest  if  he  do  nothing  toward  it,  a 
professor  in  the  appointed  ways  of  grace  (let  him  talk 
of  finished  salvation  all  the  year  round)  shall  go  with- 
out justification  and  salvation,  unless  he  do  something 
toward  them.  "  He  that  goeth  forth  weeping,"  says 
the  psalmist,  "  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless 
come  again  with  joy,  bringing  his  sheaves  ivith 
himP  "  Be  not  deceived,"  says  the  apostle ;  "  what- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  And 
he  only  that  soweth  to  the  JSjm'it,  shall  of  the  Spirit 
reap  life  everlasting"  David,  therefore,  and  St.  Paul, 
must  be  proved  enemies  to  free  grace  before  Mr.  Wesley 
can  be  represented  as  such,  for  they  both  soived  in  tears 
before  they  reaped  in  joy  ;  their  doctrine  and  experi- 
ence went  hand  in  hand  together. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE  MERIT  OF  GOOD  WORKS. 

SECTION    I. 

Having  cautioned  against  the  popish  abuse  of  Wes- 
ley's doctrine  of  the  excellence  of  works,  and  shown  the 
evangelical  use  that  a  real  Protestant  should  make  of 
it,  I  return  to  the  word  "  merit,  of  which  we  have  been 
so  dreadfully  afraid."  Let  a  comparison  help  thee  to 
understand  how  a  believer  may  use  it  in  a  very  harm- 
less sense. 

The  king  promises  rewards  for  good  pictures  to  mi- 
serable foundlings  whom  he  has  charitably  brought 
up,  and  graciously  admitted  into  his  royal  academy  of 


32  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

painting.  Far  from  being  masters  of  their  art,  they  can 
of  themselves  do  nothing  but  spoil  canvass,  and  waste 
colours  by  making  monstrous  figures :  but  the  king's 
son,  a  perfect  painter,  by  his  father's  leave,  guides  their 
hands,  and  by  that  means  good  pictures  are  produced, 
though  not  so  excellent  as  they  would  have  been  had 
not  he  made  them  by  their  stiff  and  clumsy  hands. 
The  king,  however,  approves  of  them,  and  fixes  the 
reward  of  each  picture  according  to  its  peculiar  merit. 
If  you  say  that  the  poor  foundlings,  owing  all  to  his 
majesty,  and  the  prince's  having  freely  guided  their 
hands,  tliemselves  merited  nothing ;  because,  after  all 
they  have  done,  they  are  miserable  daubers  still,  and 
nothing  is  properly  theirs  but  the  imperfections  of  the 
pictures,  and  therefore  the  king's  reward,  though  it  may 
be  of  promise,  can  never  be  of  debt ;  I  grant  it,  I  assert 
it.  But  if  you  say  the  good  pictures  have  no  merit,  I 
beg  leave  to  dissent  from  thee,  and  tell  thee  thou  speak- 
est  as  unadvisedly  for  the  king  as  Job's  friends  did  for 
God.  For  if  the  pictures  have  absolutely  no  merits 
dost  thou  not  greatly  reflect  upon  the  king's  taste  and 
wisdom  in  saying  that  he  rewards  them?  In  the 
name  of  common  sense,  what  is  it  he  rewards?  The 
merit,  or  demerit,  of  the  work  ? 

But  this  is  not  all ;  if  the  pictures  have  no  merit, 
what  hath  the  king's  son  been  doing?  Hath  he  lost 
all  his  trouble  in  helping  the  novices  to  sketch  and 
finish  them  ?  Shall  we  deny  the  excellence  of  his  per- 
formance, because  they  were  concerned  in  it?  Shall 
we  be  guilty  of  this  glaring  partiality  any  longer  ?  No ; 
some  Protestants  will  dare  to  judge  righteous  judgment, 
and  acknowledge  there  is  7nerit  where  Christ  puts  it, 
and  where  God  rewards  it ;  they  will  give  honour  to 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  33 

whom  honour  is  due,  even  to  him  that  worketh  all 
the  good  in  all  his  creatuies. 

For  my  part,  I  entirely  agree  with  the  author  of  the 
Minutes,  and  thank  him  for  daring  to  break  the  ice  of 
prejudice  and  bigotry  among  us,  by  restoring  works 
of  righteousness  to  their  deserved  glory,  without  de- 
tracting from  the  glory  of  the  Lord  our  righteousness. 
I  am  as  much  persuaded  that  the  grace  of  Christ  merits 
in  the  works  of  his  members,  though  they  themselves 
merit  nothing  but  hell,  as  I  am  persuaded  that  gold  in 
the  ore  hath  its  intrinsic  worth,  though  it  is  mixed  with 
dust  and  dross,  which  are  good  for  nothing. 

Mr.  Baxter  remarks  as  follows :  "The  word  merit, 
rightly  explained,  is  not  amiss.     All  the  fathers  of  the 
primitive  church  have  made  use  of  it  without  opposition, 
to  my  remembrance.    It  may  be  used  by  believers  who 
do  not  make  a  cloak  for  error,  by  wise  men  who  will  • 
not  be  offended  at  it,  and  by  those  who  want  to  defend 
the  truth,  and  convey  clearer  ideas  in  the  explanation 
of  things  intricate.     There  is  no  word  that  fully  con- 
veys the  same  idea :  that  which  comes  nearest  to  it  is 
dignity,  and  suspicious  persons  will  not  like  it  much 
better.     We  have  three  words  in  the  New  Testament 
that  come  very  near  it,  a^iog^  fiiadoc,  and  SiKaioc,  and  they 
occur  pretty  frequently  there.    We  render  them  worthy, 
reward,  and  just ;  and  the  abuse  ^hich  Papists  make 
of  them  ought  not  to  make  us  reject  their  use.     The 
English  word  worthy  conveys  no  other  idea  than  that 
of  the  Latin  word  meritum,  taken  actively ;  nor  has 
the  word  reward  any  other  signification  than  the  word 
meritum,  taken  passively  ;  therefore  they  who  can  put 
a  candid  sense  upon  the  words  worthy  and  reward, 
should  do  the  same  with  regard  to  the  word  merit.^'' 

2* 


34  BEATJT1E8   ©F  FLETCHER. 

SECTION    II. 

CA^VINISTie   REASONING  RESPECTING  REPROBATION 
ANSWERED. 

"  If  all  have  sinned  in  Adam,  and  the  wages  of 
sin  is  death,  God  did  the  reprobates  no  wrong  when 
he  condemned  them  to  eternal  torments,  before  they 
knew  their  right  hand  from  their  left ;  yea,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  worW^ 

Ans.  The  plausibility  of  this  reasoning,  heightened 
by  voluntary  humility,  has  misled  thousands  of  pious 
souls :  God  give  them  understanding  to  weigh  the  fol- 
lowing reflections ! 

1.  If  an  unconditional,  absolute  decree  of  damnation 
passed  upon  the  reprobates  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  it  is  absurd  to  account  for  the  justice  of  such  a 
decree,  by  appealing  to  a  sin  committed  after  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world. 

2.  If  Adam  sinned  necessarily  according  to  the  secret 
will  and  purpose  of  God,  as  you  intimate  in  your 
fourth  letter,  many  do  not  see  how  he,  much  more  his 
posterity,  could  justly  be  condemned  to  eternal  torments 
for  doing  an  iniquity  which  God^s  hand  and  counsel 
determined  before  to  be  done. 

3.  As  we  sinned  only  seminally  in  Adam,  if  God 
had  not  intended  our  redemption,  his  goodness  would 
have  engaged  him  to  destroy  us  seminally,  by  crush- 
ing the  capital  offender  who  contained  us  all ;  so  there 
would  have  been  a  just  proportion  between  the  sin  and 
the  punishment;  for  as  we  sinned  in  Adam  without 
the  least  consciousness  of  guilt,  so  in  him  we  should 
have  been  punished  without  the  least  consciousness  of 


BEATTTIES    OF    FLETCHER.  35 

pain.  This  observation  may  be  illustrated  by  an  ex- 
ample. If  I  catch  a  mischievous  animal — a  viper,  for 
instance — I  have  undoubtedly  a  right  to  kill  her,  and 
destroy  her  dangerous  brood,  if  she  is  big  with  young. 
But  if,  instead  of  despatching  her  as  soon  as  I  can,  I 
feed  her,  on  purpose  to  get  many  broods  from  her,  and 
torment  to  death  millions  of  her  offspring,  I  can  hardly 
pass  for  the  good  man  who  regards  the  life  of  a  beast. 
Leaving  to  you  the  application  of  this  simile,  I  ask.  Do 
we  honour  God  when  we  break  the  equal  beams  of  his 
perfections — when  we  blacken  his  goodness  and  mercy, 
in  order  to  make  his  justice  and  greatness  shine  with 
exorbitant  lustre  ?  If  "  a  God  all  mercy  is  a  God  un- 
just," may  we  not  say,  according  to  the  rule  of  propor- 
tion, that  "  a  God  all  justice  is  a  God  unkind,"  and  can 
never  be  he  whose  mercy  is  over  all  his  works  ? 

4.  But  the  moment  we  allow  that  the  blessing  of  the 
second  Adam  is  as  general  as  the  curse  of  the  first; 
that  God  sets  again  life  and  death  before  every  indi- 
vidual ;  and  that  he  mercifully  restores  to  all  a  capacity 
of  choosing  life,  yea,  and  of  having  it  one  day  more 
abundantly  than  Adam  himself  had  before  the  fall,  we 
see  his  goodness  and  justice  shine  with  equal  radiance, 
w^hen  he  spares  guilty  Adam  to  propagate  the  fallen 
race,  that  they  may  share  the  blessings  of  a  better 
covenant.  For,  according  to  the  Adamic  law,  judg- 
ment was  hy  one  sin  to  condemnation  ;  but  the  free 
gift  of  the  gospel  is  of  many  offences  to  justifica- 
tion. For  if  through  the  offence  of  one,  the  many 
he  dead ;  much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift 
hy  grace,  which  is  hy  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath 
abounded  unto  many. 

5.  Rational  and  Scriptural  as  the  preceding  observa- 


36  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

tions  are,  we  could  spare  them,  and  answer  your  objec- 
tion thus:  You  think  God  may  justly  decree  that  mil- 
lions of  his  unborn  creatures  shall  be  vessels  of  wrath 
to  all  eternity,  overflowing  with  the  vengeance  due  to 
Adam's  preordained  sin;  but  you  are  not  nearer  the 
mark :  for,  granting  that  he  could  do  it  as  a  just,  good, 
and  merciful  God,  yet  he  cannot  do  it  as  the  God  of  faith- 
fulness and  truth.  His  word  and  oath  are  gone  forth 
together ;  hear  both :  "  What  mean  ye  that  ye  use 
this  prove?'b,  '  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes, 
and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge  ?'  As  Hive, 
saith  the  Lord  God,  ye  shall  not  have  occasion  any 
more  to  use  this  proverb.  The  soid  that  sinneth 
[personally]  it  shall  die  [eternally;]  every  o?ie  shall 
die  for  his  own  [avoidable]  iniqtiity.  Every  man 
that  eateth  sour  grapes^^  when  he  might  have  eaten 
the  sweet,  "  his  teeth  shall  he  justly  set  on  edgeP 
When  God  has  thus  made  oath  of  his  equity  and  im- 
partiality before  mankind,  it  is  rather  bold  to  charge 
him  with  contriving  Calvin's  election,  and  setting  up 
the  Protestant  great  image,  before  which  a  considerable 
part  of  the  church  bows  down  and  worships. 

Think  not,  honoured  sir,  that  I  say  2iho\xi  free  wrath 
what  I  cannot  possibly  prove,  for  you  help  me  yourself 
to  a  striking  demonstration.  I  suppose  you  are  still 
upon  your  travels.  You  come  to  the  borders  of  a  great 
empire,  and  the  first  thing  that  strikes  you  is  a  man  in 
an  easy  carriage  going  with  folded  arms  to  take  posses- 
sion of  an  immense  estate,  freely  given  him  by  the  king 
of  the  country.  As  he  flies  along,  you  just  make  out  the 
motto  of  the  royal  chariot,  in  which  he  dozes,  Free  Re- 
ward. Soon  after  you  meet  five  of  the  king's  carts, 
containing  twenty  wretches  loaded  with  irons :  and  the 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER.  37 

motto  of  every  cart  is,  Free  Punishment.  You 
inquire  into  the  meaning  of  this  extraordinary  proces- 
sion, and  the  sheriff  attending  the  execution  answers  : 
"  Know,  curious  stranger,  that  our  monarch  is  absolute, 
and  to  show  that  sovereignty  is  the  prerogative  of  his 
imperial  crown,  and  that  he  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
he  distributes  every  day  free  rewards  and  free  pun- 
ishments to  a  certain  number  of  his  subjects."  "What! 
without  any  regard  to  merit  or  dem,erit,  by  mere  ca- 
price ?"  "  Not  altogether  so,  for  he  pitches  upon  the 
worst  of  men,  and  chief  of  sinners,  and  tipon  such 
to  choose,  for  the  subjects  of  his  rewards.  (Elisha 
Coles,  page  62.)  And  that  his  punishments  may  do 
as  much  honour  to  free  sovereign  wrath  as  his  bounty 
does  to  free  sovereign  grace,  he  pitches  upon  those 
that  shall  be  executed  before  they  are  born."  "  What ! 
have  these  poor  creatures  in  chains  done  no  harm  ?"  "  O 
yes,"  says  the  sheriff,  "  the  king  contrived  that  their  pa- 
rents should  let  them  fall  and  break  their  legs,  before 
they  had  any  knowledge ;  when  they  came  to  the  years 
of  discretion,  he  commanded  them  to  run  a  race  with 
broken  legs,  and  because  they  cannot  do  it,  I  am  going 
to  see  them  quartered.  Some  of  them,  besides  this, 
have  been  obliged  to  fulfil  the  king's  secret  will,  and 
bring  about  his  purposes ;  and  they  shall  be  burned  in 
yonder  deep  valley,  called  Tophet,  for  their  trouble." 
You  are  shocked  at  the  sheriff's  account,  and  begin 
to  expostulate  with  him  against  the  freeness  of  the 
wrath  which  burns  a  man  for  doing  the  king's  will ; 
but  all  the  answer  you  can  get  from  him  is,  that  which 
you  give  me  in  your  fourth  letter,  page  23,  where,  speak- 
ing of  a  poor  reprobate,  you  say,  "  Such  a  one  is  in- 
deed accomplishing'^  the  king's,  you  say,  "God's  decree, 


38  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

but  he  carries  a  dreadful  mark  in  his  forehead,  that 
such  a  decree  is,  that  he  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  lord"  of 
the  country.  You  cry  out,  "  God  deliver  me  from  the 
hand  of  a  monarch  who  punishes  with  everlasting 
destruction  such  as  accomplish  his  decree !  And  while 
the  magistrate  intimates  that  your  exclamation  is  a 
dreadful  mark^  if  not  in  your  forehead,  at  least  upon 
your  tongue,  that  you  yourself  shall  be  apprehended 
against  the  next  executiou,  and  made  a  public  instance 
against  the  king's  free  wrath,  your  blood  runs  cold,  you 
bid  the  postillion  turn  the  horses ;  they  gallop  for  life, 
and  the  moment  you  get  out  of  the  dreary  land,  you 
bless  God  for  your  narrow  escape. 

May  reason  and  Scripture  draw  your  soul  with  equal 
speed  from  the  dismal  fields  of  Cole's  sovereignty  to 
the  smiling  plains  of  primitive  Christianity !  Here  you 
have  God's  election,  without  Calvin's  reprobation.  Here 
Christ  chooses  the  Jews,  without  rejecting  the  Gentiles, 
and  elects  Peter,  James,  and  John,  to  the  enjoyment  of 
peculiar  privileges,  without  reprobating  Matthew,  Tho- 
mas, and  Simon.  Here  nobody  is  damned  for  not 
doing  impossibilities,  or  for  doing  what  he  could  not 
possibly  help.  Here  all  that  are  saved  enjoy  rewards 
through  the  merits  of  Christ,  £lccording  to  the  degrees 
of  evangelical  obedience  which  the  Lord  enables,  not 
forces  them,  to  perform.  Here  free  wrath  never  ap- 
peared: all  our  damnation  is  of  ourselves,  when  we 
neglect  such  great  salvation,  by  obstinately  refusing 
to  work  it  out  loith  fear  and  trembling.  But  this  is 
not  all :  here  free  grace  does  not  rejoice  over  stocks, 
but  over  men,  who  gladly  confess  that  their  salvation 
is  all  of  God,  who  for  Christ's  sake  rectifies  their  free 


BEAUTIES    ©F  FLETCHER,  39 

agency,  helps  their  infirmities,  and  works  in  them  both 
to  ivill  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure.  And  from  the 
tenor  of  the  Scripture,  as  well  as  from  the  consent  of  all 
nations,  and  the  dictates  of  conscience,  it  appears,  that 
part  of  God's  good  pleasure  toward  man  is,  that  he 
shall  remain  invested  with  the  awful  power  of  choosing 
hfe  or  death,  that  his  will  shall  never  be  forced,  and  con- 
sequently, that  overbearing,  irresistible  grace  shall  be 
banished  to  the  land  of  Cole's  sovereignty,  together  with 
free,  absolute,  unavoidable  wrath. 

Now,  honoured  sir,  permit  me  to  ask,  Why  does  this 
doctrine  alarm  good  men?     Why  are  those  divines 
deemed  heretics  who  dare  not  divest  God  of  his  essen- 
tial love,  Emanuel  of  his  compassionate  humanity, 
and  man  of  his  connatural  free  agency  ?     What  are 
Dominicus  and  Calvin,  when  weighed  in  the  balance 
against  Moses  and  Jesus  Christ  ?     Hear  the  great  pro- 
phet of  the  Jews,  /  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record 
this  day  against  you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life 
and  death,  blessing  and  cursing,  [heaven  and  hell,] 
therefore  choose  life  that  ye  may  live.     And  he  that 
hath  ears,  not  yet  absolutely  stopped  by  prejudice,  let 
him  hear  what  the  great  prophet  of  the  Christians  says 
upon  the  important  question:    /  am  come  that  they 
might   have    life ; —all  things  are  now   ready;—! 
would  have  gathered  you,  and  ye  ivould  not.     Be- 
cause I  have  called,  and  ye  refused,  I  will  laugh  when 
your  destruction  cometh.  For  that  they  did  not  choose 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  therefore  shall  they  eat,  not  the 
fruit  of  my  decree,  or  of  Adam's  sin,   but  of  their 
own  perverse  way:  they  shall  be  filed  with  their  own 
doings. 

Our  Calvinian  brethren  assert,  that  God  binds  his 


40  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

free  grace,  and  keeps  it  from  visiting  millions  of  sinners 
whom  they  call  reprobates.  They  teach,  that  man  is 
not  in  a  state  of  probation,  that  his  lot  is  absolutely 
cast,  a  certain  little  number  of  souls  being  immoveably 
fixed  in  God's  favour  in  the  midst  of  all  their  abomi- 
nations ;  and  a  certain  vast  number  under  his  eternal 
wrath,  in  the  midst  of  their  most  sincere  endeavours  to 
secure  his  favour.  And  their  teachers  maintain  that 
the  names  of  the  former  were  written  in  the  book  of 
life,  without  any  respect  to  foreseen  repentance,  faith, 
and  obedience ;  while  the  names  of  the  latter  were  put 
in  the  book  of  death  (so  I  call  the  decree  of  reprobation) 
merely  for  the  sin  of  Adam,  without  any  regard  to  per- 
sonal impenitency,  unbelief,  and  disobedience.  And 
this  narrow  grace  and  free  wrath  they  recommend  to 
the  world  under  the  engaging  name  of  free  grace. 


SECTION  III. 

CALVINIAN   REPROBATION  INCONSISTENT   WITH   THE 
PERFECTIONS   OF   GOD. 

1.  What  becomes  of  God's  goodness  if  the  tokens 
of  it,  which  he  gives  to  millions,  be  only  intended  to 
enhance  their  ruin,  or  cast  a  deceitful  veil  over  his  ever- 
lasting wrath  ?  What  becomes  of  his  mercy,  which  is 
over  all  his  works,  if  milUons  were  for  ever  excluded 
from  the  least  interest  in  it  by  an  absolute  decree  that 
constitutes  them  vessels  of  wrath  from  all  eternity  ? 
What  becomes  of  his  justice,  if  he  sentences  myriads 
upon  myriads  to  everlasting  fire  because  they  have  not 
believed  on  the  name  of  his  only  begotten  Son,  when, 
if  they  had  believed  that  he  was  their  Jesus,  their  Sa- 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER.  41 

viour,  they  would  have  believed  a  monstrous  lie,  and 
claimed  what  they  have  no  more  right  to  than  I  have 
to  the  crown  of  England  ?  What  becomes  of  his  vera- 
city and  the  oath  he  swears,  that  he  willeth  not  the 
death  of  a  sinner,  if  he  never  affords  most  sinners  suf- 
ficient means  of  escaping  eternal  death  ?  If  he  sends 
his  ambassadors  to  every  creature,  declaring  that  all 
things  are  now  ready  for  their  salvation,  when  nothing 
but  tophet  is  prepared  of  old,  for  the  inevitable  de- 
struction of  a  vast  majority  of  them  ?  What  becomes 
of  his  holiness,  if,  in  order  to  condemn  the  reprobates 
with  some  show  of  justice,  and  secure  the  end  of  his 
decree  of  reprobation,  which  is,  that  "millions  shall 
absolutely  be  damned,"  he  absolutely  fixes  the  means 
of  their  damnation,  that  is,  their  sins  and  wickedness  ? 
What  becomes  of  his  wisdom,  if  he  seriously  expos- 
tulates with  souls  as  dead  as  corpses,  and  gravely  urges 
to  repentance  and  faith  persons  that  can  no  more  repent 
and  believe  than  fishes  can  speak  and  sing  ?  What 
becomes  of  his  long-suffering,  if  he  waits  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  sending  the  reprobates  into  a  deeper  hell, 
and  not  to  give  them  a  longer  time  to  save  themselves 
from  this  perverse  generation  ?  What  of  his  equity, 
if  there  was  mercy  for  Adam  and  Eve,  who  personally 
breaking  the  hedge  of  duty,  wantonly  rushed  out  of 
Paradise  into  this  howhng  wilderness;  and  yet  there 
is  no  mercy  for  millions  of  their  unfortunate  children, 
who  are  born  in  a  state  of  sin  and  misery,  without  any 
personal  choice,  and  consequently  without  any  person- 
al sin  ?  And  what  becomes  of  his  omniscience,  if  he 
cannot  foreknow  future  contingencies?  If  to  foretel 
without  a  mistake  that  such  a  thing  shall  happen,  he 
must  do  it  himself?     Was  not  Nero  as  wise  in  this 


43  BEAUTIES  OF   FLETCHER. 

respect?  Could  he  not  foretel  that  Phebe  should  not 
continue  a  virgin  when  he  was  bent  upon  ravishing 
her?  That  Seneca  should  not  die  a  natural  death, 
when  he  had  determined  to  have  him  murdered  ?  And 
that  Crispus  should  fall  into  a  pit,  if  he  obliged  him  to 
run  a  race  at  midnight  in  a  place  full  of  pits?  And 
what  old  woman  in  the  kingdom  cannot  precisely  fore- 
tel that  a  silly  tale  shall  be  told  at  such  an  hour,  if  she 
is  resolved  to  tell  it  herself,  or  at  any  rate  to  engage  a 
child  to  do  it  for  her  ? 

Again,  What  becomes  of  GodCs  loving  kindnesses 
which  have  been  ever  of  old  toward  the  children  of 
men?  And  what  of  his  impartiality,  if  most  men, 
absolutely  reprobated  for  the  sin  of  Adam,  are  never 
placed  in  a  state  of  personal  trial  and  probation  ?  Does 
not  God  use  them  far  less  kindly  than  devils,  who  were 
tried  every  one  for  himself,  and  remain  in  their  diaboli- 
cal state,  because  they  brought  it  upon  themselves  by  a 
personal  choice?  Astonishing!  that  the  Son  of  God 
should  have  been  flesh  of  the  flesh,  and  bone  of  the 
bone  of  millions  of  men,  whom,  upon  the  Calvinian 
scheme,  he  never  indulged  so  far  as  he  did  devils  !  What 
a  hard-hearted  relation  to  myriads  of  his  fellow-men 
does  Calvin  represent  our  Lord?  Suppose  Satan  had 
become  our  kinsman  by  incarnation,-  and  had  by  that 
means  got  the  right  of  redemption;  would  he  not 
have  acted  like  himself,  if  he  had  only  left  the  majority 
of  them  in  the  depth  of  the  fall,  but  enhanced  their 
misery  by  the  sight  of  his  partiality  to  the  httle  flock 
of  the  elect  ? 

Once  more.  What  becomes  of  fair  dealing,  if  God 
everywhere  represents  sin  as  the  dreadful  evil  which 
causes  dainnsition,  and  yet  the  most  horrid  sins  work 


BEAUTIE*   or  FtEtCHER,  4fl 

for  good  to  some,  and,  as  you  intimate,  "  accomplish 
their  salvation  through  Christ  ?"  And  what  of  honesty, 
if  the  God  of  truth  himself  promises  that  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  shall  he  blessed  in  Christ,  when  he 
has  cursed  a  vast  majority  of  them  with  a  decree  of 
absolute  reprobation,  which  excludes  them  from  obtain- 
ing an  interest  in  him,  even  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  1 

Nay,  what  becomes  of  his  sovereignty  itself,  if  it  be 
torn  from  the  mild  and  gracious  attributes  by  which  it 
is  tempered?  If  it  be  held  forth  in  such  a  light  as 
renders  it  more  terrible  to  millions  than  the  sovereignty 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  the  plain  of  Dura,  appeared  to 
Daniel's  companions,  when  the  form  of  his  visage 
was  changed  against  them,  and  he  decreed  that  they 
should  be  cast  into  the  burning  fiery  furnace ;  for 
they  might  have  saved  their  bodily  lives  by  bowing  to 
the  golden  image,  which  was  a  thing  in  their  power ; 
but  poor  reprobates  can  escape  at  no  rate :  the  horrible 
decree  is  gone  forth ;  they  must,  in  spite  of  their  best 
endeavours,  dwell  body  and  soul  toith  everlasting 
burnings. 

I-.et  none  say  that  we  wrong  the  Calvinian  decree 
of  reprobation  when  we  call  it  a  horrible  decree,  for 
Calvin  himself  is  honest  enough  to  call  it  so.  "  How 
comes  it  to  pass,"  says  Calvin,  "  that  so  many  nations, 
together  with  their  infant  children,  are,  by  the  fall  of 
Adam,  involved  in  eternal  death  without  remedy,  vmless 
it  is  because  God  would  have  it  so  ?  A  horrible  decree, 
I  confess !  Nevertheless,  nobody  can  deny  that  God 
foreknew  what  would  be  man's  end  before  he  created 
him,  and  that  he  foreknew  it  because  he  had  ordered 
it  by  his  decree." — Calv.  Inst.,  book  iii,  ch.  xxiii,  sec.  7. 


44  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

AN  OBJECTION    ANSWERED. 

"  What  becomes  of  God's  wisdom,  if  he  gave  his 
Son  to  die  for  all  mankind,  when  he  foreknew  that 
most  men  would  never  be  benefited  by  his  death  ?" 

Ans.  1.  God  foreknew  just  the  contrary;  all  men, 
even  those  who  perish,  are  benefited  by  Christ's  death ; 
for  all  enjoy  through  him  a  day  of  salvation,  and  a 
thousand  blessings,  both  spiritual  and  temporal;  and 
if  all  do  not  enjoy  heaven  for  ever,  they  may  thank 
God  for  his  gracious  offer,  and  take  the  blame  upon 
themselves  for  their  obstinate  refusal  of  it.  • 

2.  God,  by  reinstating  all  mankind  in  a  state  of  pro- 
bation, for  ever  shuts  the  mouths  of  those  who  choose 
death  in  the  error  of  their  ways,  and  clears  himself  of 
their  blood  before  men  and  angels.  If  he  cannot  eter- 
nally benefit  unbelievers,  he  eternally  vindicates  his  own 
adorable  perfections.  He  can  say  to  the  most  obstinate 
of  all  reprobates,  O  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself: 
in  me  was  thy  help ;  but  thou  wouldst  not  come  unto 
me  that  thou  mightest  have  life.  Thy  destruction  is 
not  from  my  decree,  but  thine  own  determination. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AN  ANSWER  TO  SEVERAL  CALVINIAN  DOGMAS 
RESPECTING  THE  ELECT. 

I,  "David,  notwithstanding  his  horrible  backslidings, 
did  not  lose  the  character  of  the  man  after  God^s  own 
heart:' 

You  will  permit  me  to  believe  the  contrary : 

1.  Upon  the  testimony  of  the  Psalmist  hunself,  who 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  45 

says,  in  your  favourite  Psalm,  "  Thou  hast  cast  off  and 
abhorred,  thou  hast  been  very  wroth  with  thine  anoint- 
ed; thou  hast  made  void  the  covenant  of  thy  servant ; 
thou  hast  profaned  his  crown  by  casting  it  to  the 
ground,^'  Psalm  Ixxxix,  38. 

2.  Where  is  David  called  "  the  man  after  God's  own 
heart,"  whUe  he  continued  an  impenitent  adulterer? 
How  much  more  guarded  is  the  Scripture  than  your 
letters?  ^^ David  did  that  which  was  right  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord,  and  turned  not  aside,  save  only  in  the 
matter  of  Uriah,"  1  Kings  xv,  5.  Here  you  see  the 
immoral  parenthesis  of  ten  months  spent  in  adultery 
and  murder  expressly  pointed  at,  and  excepted  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

3.  David  himself,  far  from  thinking  that  sin  could 
never  separate  between  God  and  a  just  rnan  who  draws 
back  into  wickedness,  speaks  thus  in  the  last  charge 
which  he  gave  to  Solomon  :  "  And  thou,  Solomon,  my 
son,  know  the  God  of  thy  father,  and  serve  him  with 
a  perfect  heart.  If  thou  seek  him,  he  will  be  found 
of  thee,  but  if  thou  forsake  him,  he  will  cast  thee  off 
for  ever,"  1  Chron.  xxviii,  9.  Hence  it  appears  that 
the  God  of  Solomon's  father  is  very  different  from  the 
picture  which  Dr.  Crisp  draws  of  David's  God.  The 
former  c&n  be  so  displeased  with  an  impenitent  back- 
slider as  to  cast  him  off  for  ever ;  while  the  latter  ac- 
counts him  a  pleasant  child  still. 

n.  "  A*  soon  shall  Satan  pluck  Chris  fs  crown  from 
his  head,  as  his  purchase  from  his  hand." 

Ans.  Here  is  a  great  truth  making  way  for  a  palpa- 
ble error,  and  a  dreadful  insinuation. 

1.  Let  us  see  the  great  truth.     It  is,  indeed,  most 


46  BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER. 

certain  that  nobody  shall  ever  be  able  to  pluck  Christ's 
sheep,  that  is,  penitent  believers,  who  hear  his  voice  and 
follow  him,  (John  x,  27,)  out  of  his  protecting  almighty 
hand.  But  if  the  minds  of  those  penitent  believers 
are  corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ ;  if 
they  wax  wanton  against  him,  turn  after  Satan,  end 
in  the  flesh,  and  draw  hack  to  perdition ;  if,  growing 
fat,  and  kicking  like  Jeshurun,  they  neigh  Hke  high 
fed  horses  after  their  neighbours''  wives :  we  demand 
proof  that  they  belong  to  the  fold  of  Christ,  and  are  not 
rather  goats  and  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  who  can- 
not, without  conversion,  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

2.  The  palpable  error  is,  that  none  of  them  for 
whom  Christ  died  can  be  cast  away  and  destroyed ; 
that  no  virgin's  lamp  can  go  out;  no  promising  har- 
vest be  choked  with  thorns ;  no  branch  of  Christ  cut 
off  for  unfruitfulness ;  no  pardon  forfeited,  and  no 
name  blotted  out  of  God's  book; — that  no  salt  can 
lose  its  savour,  nobody  receive  the  grace  of  God  in 
vain,  bury  his  talent,  neglect  such  great  salvation, 
trifle  away  a  day  of  visitation,  look  back  after  setting 
his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  grieve  the  Spirit  until  he 
is  quenched,  and  strives  no  more.  This  error,  so  con- 
ducive to  Laodicean  ease,  is  expressly  opposed  by  St. 
Peter,  who  informs  us  that  they  deny  the  Lord  that 
bought  them,  and  bring  upon  themselves  swift  destruc- 
tion. Christ  himself,  far  from  desiring  to  keep  his 
lukewarm  purchase  in  his  hand,  declares  that  he  will 
spew  them  out  of  his  mouth. 

3.  A  dreadful  insinuation.  While  you  perpetually 
try  to  comfort  a  few  elect,  some  of  whom,  for  aught  you 
Ifriow,  comfort  themselves  already  with  their  neigh- 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHfilt.  47 

hours'  wives,  (like  David,)  yea,  and  the  wives  of  their 
fathers,  (like  the  incestuous  Corinthians ;)  please  tell  us 
how  we  shall  comfort  millions  of  reprobates,  who,  for 
what  you  know,  try  to  save  themselves  from  this  adul- 
terous generation  ?  Do  you  not  hear  how  Satan,  upon 
a  supposition  of  the  truth  of  your  doctrine,  triumphs 
over  those  unhappy  victims  of  what  some  call  God's 
sovereig-nty  ?  While  that  old  murderer  shakes  his  bloody 
hand  over  the  myriads  devoted  to  endless  torments, 
methinks  I  hear  him  say  to  his  fellow-executioners  of 
divine  vengeance,  "As  soon  shall  Christ's  crown  be 
plucked  from  his  head  as  this  his  free  gift  from  my 
hand.  Let  yonder  little  flock  of  the  elect  commit 
adultery  and  incest  without  any  possibility  of  missing- 
heaven.  I  object  no  more.  See  what  crowds  of  repro- 
bates may  pray,  and  reform,  and  strive,  without  any 
possibility  of  escaping  hell.  Let  those  gay  elect  shout, 
Everlasting  love  !  Eternal  justification  !  and,  Finished 
salvation  !  I  consent !  See,  ye  friends,  see  the  immense 
prey  that  awaits  us,  and  roar  with  me  beforehand, 
Everlasting  wrath !  Eternal  reprobation !  and,  Fin' 
ished  damnation  r 

in.  "  The  Lord  has  promised  to  make  all  things 
work  for  good  to  them  that  love  him  ;  and  if  all  things, 
then  their  very  sins  and  corruptions  are  included  in 
the  royal  promise." 

Ans.  If  this  is  the  love  of  God  that  we  keep  his 
commandments,  how  will  you  prove  that  David  loved 
God  when  he  left  his  own  wife  for  that  of  Uriah  ? 
Does  not  our  Lord  declare  that  those  who  will  not 
forsake  husband,  wife,  children,  and  all  things,  for 
Chris  fs  sake,  are  not  worthy  of  him,  either  as  believers 


48  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

or  lovers  ?  And  are  those  worthy  of  him  who  break  his 
commandments,  and  take  their  neighbours'  wives  ? 

Again ;  if  St.  John,  speaking  of  one  who  does  not 
reUeve  an  indigent  brother,  asks  with  indignation,  How 
dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?  may  not  I,  with 
greater  reason,  say,  "  How  dwelt  the  love  of  God  in 
David?"  who,  far  from  assisting  Uriah,  murdered  his 
soul  by  drunkenness,  and  his  body  with  the  sword! 
And  if  David  did  not  love  God,  how  can  you  believe 
that  a  promise  made  to  those  that  lave  God  respected 
him  in  this  state  of  impenitency  ? 

2.  When  we  extol  free  grace,  and  declare  that  God^s 
mercy  is  over  all  his  works,  you  directly  answer,  that 
the  word  all  must  be  taken  in  a  hmited  sense:  but 
when  you  extol  the  profitableness  of  sin,  all,  in  all 
things  working  fur  good,  must  be  taken  universally, 
and  include  sin  and  corruption,  contrary  to  the  con- 
text. I  say,  contrary  to  the  context ;  for,  just  before, 
the  apostle  declares,  "i/'ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall 
die ;"  ye  shall  evidence  the  truth  of  Ezekiel's  doctrine, 
"  When  the  righteous  man  turneth  away  from  his 
righteousness,  in  his  sin  that  he  hath  sinned  shall  he 
dief  and  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  the  things  that 
work  for  good  are  enumerated,  and  they  include  all 
tribulations,  and  creatures,  but  not  our  own  sin,  unless 
you  can  prove  it  to  be  God's  creature,  and  not  the  devil's 
production. 

3.  It  is  nowhere  promised  that  sin  shall  do  us  good  ; 
on  the  contrary,  God  constantly  represents  it  as  the 
greatest  evil  in  the  world,  the  root  of  all  other  temporal 
and  eternal  evils :  and  as  he  makes  it  the  object  of  his 
invariable  disapprobation,  so,  till  they  repent,  he  levels 
his  severest  threatenings  at  sinners  without  respect  of 


BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER.  49 

persons.  But  the  author  of  «  Pietas  Oxoniensis"  has 
made  a  new  discovery.  Through  the  glass  of  Dr. 
Crisp  he  sees  tliat  one  of  the  choicest  promises  in  Scrip- 
ture respects  the  commission  of  sin,  of  theft  and  incest, 
adultery  and  murder !  So  grossly  are  threatenings  and 
promises,  punishments  and  rewards,  confounded  toge- 
ther by  this  fashionable  divinity  ! 

4.  I  grant  that,  m  some  cases,  the  punishment  in- 
flicted upon  a  sinner  has  been  overruled  for  good ;  but 
what  is  this  to  the  sin  itself?  Is  it  reasonable  to  ascribe 
.  to  sin  the  good  that  may  spring  from  the  rod  with  which 
«in  is  punished?  Some  robbers  have,  perhaps,  been 
brought  to  repentance  by  the  gallows,  and  others  de- 
terred from  committing  robbery  by  the  terror  of  their 
punishment ;  but  by  what  rule  in  logic  or  divinity  can 
we  infer  from  thence,  either  that  any  robbers  love  God, 
or  that  all  robberies  shall  work  together  for  their  good  ? 

IV.  "  How  has  many  a  poor  soul,  who  has  been 
faithless  through  fear  of  man,  even  blessed  God  for 
Peter's  denial ./" 

Ans.  Surely,  sir,  you  mistake ;  none  but  the  fiend 
who  desired  to  have  Peter  that  he  might  sift  him 
could  bless  God  for  the  apostle's  crime ;  nor  could  one, 
on  such  a  horrid  account,  bless  any  other  god  but  the 
god  of  this  world.  David  said.  My  eyes  run  down 
with  water,  because  men  keep  not  thy  law  ;  but  the 
author  of  "Pietas  Oxoniensis"  tells  us,  that  "many  a 
poor  soul  has  blessed  God"  for  the  most  horrid  breaches 
of  his  law  !  Weep  no  more,  perfidious  apostle :  thou  hast 
cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship  ;  thy  three 
curses  have  procured  God  mulUtudes  of  blessings! 
Surely,  sir,  you  cannot  mean  this !  "  Many  a  poor  soul 

3 


50  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

has  blessed  God"  for  granting  a  pardon  to  Peter, 
but  never  for  Peter's  denial  It  is  extremely  danger- 
ous thus  to  confound  a  crime  with  the  pardon  granted 
to  a  penitent  criminal. 

V.  ^^  A  grievous  fall  serves  to  make  believers  know 
their  place." 

Ans.  No,  indeed ;  it  serves  only  to  make  them  for- 
get their  place :  witness  David,  who,  far  from  know- 
ing his  place,  wickedly  took  that  of  Uriah ;  and  Eve, 
who,  by  falling  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil,  took 
her  Maker's  place,  in  her  imagination,  and  esteemed 
herself  as  wise  as  God. 

VI.  "  A  grievous  fall  drives  believers  nearer  to 
Christ." 

Ans.  Surely  you  mistake,  sir ;  you  mean  nearer  to 
the  devil ;  for  a  fall  into  pride  may  drive  me  nearer 
Lucifer,  a  fall  into  adultery  and  murder  may  drive  me 
nearer  BeUal  and  Moloch;  but  not  nearer  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

VII.  "  A  grievous  fall  makes  them  more  depend- 
ant on  Christ  for  strength." 

Ans.  No  such  thing.  The  genuine  effect  of  a  fall 
into  sin  is  to  stupify  the  conscience  and  harden  the 
heart;  witness  the  state  of  obstinacy  in  which  God 
found  Adam,  and  the  state  of  carnal  security  in  which 
Nathan  found  David,  after  their  crimes. 

VIII.  "  It  keeps  them  m^re  watchful  for  the 
future." 

Ans.  Just  the  reverse  of  this :  it  prevents  their  watch- 
ing for  the  future.     If  David  had  been  more  watchful 


BEATTTIES  OP  PLETCHEH.  51 

by  falling  into  adultery,  would  he  have  fallen  into 
treachery  and  murder  ?  If  Peter  had  been  more  watch- 
ful by  his  Jirst  falling  into  perjury,  would  he  have  fallen 
three  times  successively  ? 

IX.  "  It  will  cause  believers  to  sympathize  with 
others  in  like  situation" 

Ans.  By  no  means.  A  fall  into  sin  will  naturally 
make  us  desirous  of  drawing  another  into  our  guilty 
condition.  Witness  the  devil  and  Eve,  Eve  and  Adam, 
David  and  Bathsheba.  The  royal  adulterer  was  so  far 
from  sympathizing  with  the  man  who  had  unkindly 
taken  his  neighbour's  ewe  lamb,  that  he  directly  swore, 
As  the  Lord  liveth,  the  man  that  has  done  this  thing 
shall  surely  die. 

X.  "  It  will  make  them  sing  louder  to  the  prnise 
of  restoring  grace  throughout  all  the  ages  of  eter- 
nity." 

Ans.  I  demand  proof  of  this.  I  greatly  question 
whether  Demas,  Alexander  the  coppersmith,  Hyme- 
neus,  Philetus,  and  many  of  the  fallen  believers  men- 
tioned in  the  epistles  of  our  Lord  to  the  fallen  churches 
of  Asia,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  in  those  of 
St.  Peter,  St.  James,  and  St.  Jude,  shall  sing  restoring 
grace  at  all.  The  apostle,  far  from  representing  them 
as  singing  louder,  gives  us  to  understand  that  many 
of  them  shall  be  thought  worthy  of  a  much  sorer 
punishment  than  the  sinners  consumed  by  fire  from 
heaven ;  and  that  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice 
for  their  sins ;  (a  sure  proof  that  Christ's  sacrifice 
availed  for  them  till  they  accounted  the  blood  of  the 
covenant  an  unholy  thing ;)  for,  adds  the  apostle,  The 
Lord  will  judge  his  people^  and,  notwithstanding  all 


62  BEATTTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

that  Dr.  Crisp  says  to  the  contrary,  There  remaineth 
(for  apostates)  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judg- 
ment and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the 
adversaries.  Weeping,  wailing,  gnashing  of  teeth, 
and  not  "louder  songs,"  await  the  unprofitable  ser- 
vant. 

But  supposing  some  are  renewed  to  repentance,  and 
escape  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil;  can  you  imagine 
they  will  be  upon  the  footing  of  those  who,  standing 
steadfast  and  immoveable,  always  abounded  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord  7  Shall,  then,  the  labour  of  these 
be  in  vain  in  the  Lord  ?  Are  not  our  works  to  follow 
us  ?  Shall  the  unprofitable  servant,  if  restored,  receive 
a  crown  of  life  equal  to  his  who,  from  the  time  he  en- 
listed, always  fought  the  good  fight,  and  kept  the 
faith  7  The  doctrine  you  would  inculcate  bears  hard 
upon  the  equity  of  the  divine  conduct,  and  strikes  a 
fetal  blow  at  the  root  of  all  diligence  and  faithfulness, 
so  strongly  recommended  in  the  oracles  of  God. 

You  will  be  sensible  of  your  error,  if  you  observe  that 
all  the  fine  things  which  you  tell  us  of  a  fall  into  sin, 
belong  not  to  the  fall,  but  to  a  happy  recovery  from  it, 
and  my  honoured  correspondent  is  as  much  mistaken, 
when  he  ascribes  to  sin  the  effects  of  repentance  and 
feith,  as  if  he  ascribed  to  a  frost  the  effects  of  a  thaw, 
or  to  sickness  the  consequence  of  a  recovery. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  53 

CHAPTER  IV. 
ON  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  A  TWOFOLD  JUSTIFICATION. 

I  SHALL  by  the  following  syllogism  demonstrate, 
that  justification  in  the  day  of  our  conversion,  and  jus- 
tification in  the  last  day,  are  no  more  one  single  act, 
than  the  day  of  the  sinner's  conversion,  and  that  of 
judgment  are  one  single  day. 

*  Two  acts,  which  differ  as  to  time,  place,  person,  wit- 
nesses, and  circumstances,  cannot  be  one  single  act; 
(the  one  may  be  done  when  the  other  remains  undone.) 
But  our  first  justification  at  conversion  thus  diflfers  from 
our  second  justification  in  the  great  day.  Therefore 
our  first  and  second  justification  cannot  be  one  single 
act. 

The  second  proposition,  which  alone  is  disputable, 
may  be  thus  abundantly  proved.  Our  first  and  second 
justification  differ :  1.  With  respect  to  time ;  the  time 
of  the  one  is  the  hour  of  conversion ;  and  the  time  of 
the  other,  the  day  of  J7idgment.  2.  With  respect  to 
the  place ;  the  place  of  the  former  is  the  earth ;  and 
the  place  of  the  latter  is  the  awful  spot  where  the  tri- 
bunal of  Christ  shall  be  erected.  3.  With  respect  to 
the  witnesses :  the  witnesses  of  the  former  are  the  Spirit 
of  God  and  our  own  conscience  ;  or  to  speak  in  Scrip- 
ture language,  The  Spirit  hearing  witness  with  our 
spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God :  but  the  wit- 
nesses of  the  latter  will  be  the  countless  myriads  of 
men  and  angels  assembled  before  Christ.  4.  With  re- 
spect to  the  Justifier :  in  the  former  justification,  one 


M  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

God  justifies  the  circumcision  and  uncircumcision ; 
and  in  the  latter,  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man, 
even  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  will  pronounce  the  sentence, 
for  the  Father  judgeth  no  man,  hut  has  committed  all 
judgment  to  the  Son.  5.  With  respect  to  the  justi- 
fied :  in  the  day  of  conversion,  a  penitent  sinner  is 
justified ;  in  the  day  of  judgment  a  persevering  saint. 
6.  With  respect  to  the  article  upon  which  justification 
will  turn :  although  the  meritorious  cause  of  both  our 
justifications  is  the  same,  that  is,  the  blood  and  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  yet  the  instrumental  cause  is  very 
different,  by  faith  we  obtain  (not  purchase)  the  first, 
and  by  works  the  second.  7.  With  respect  to  the  act 
of  the  Justifier:  at  our  conversion  God  covers  and 
pardons  our  sins ;  but  in  the  day  of  judgment,  Christ 
uncovers  and  approves  our  righteousness.  And  lastly, 
with  regard  to  the  consequences  of  both :  at  the  first 
justification,  we  are  enlisted  by  the  Friend  of  sinners 
to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith  in  the  church  mili- 
tant ;  and  at  the  second,  we  are  admitted  by  the  right- 
eous Judge  to  receive  a  crown  of  righteousness,  and 
shine  like  the  sun  in  the  church  triumphant. 

If  righteous  Lot  had  died  when  he  repeated  the 
crimes  of  drunkenness  and  incest,  his  justification  would 
have  been  turned  into  condemnation,  according  to  St. 
Paul's  plain  rule.  If  thou  be  a  breaker  of  the  lata,  thy 
circumcision  is  made  uncircumcisioii :  for  neither 
the  holy  God,  nor  any  virtuous  man,  can  possibly  jus- 
tify a  sinner  upon  the  evidence  of  drunkermess  and 
incest. 

If  Solomon,  doting  upon  heathenish  young  women, 
and  led  astray  by  them  into  abominable  idolatries, 
had  died  before  he  was  brought  again  to  repentance, 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  55 

he  could  never  have  seen  the  kingdom  of  God : he 

would  have  perished  in  his  sin :  unless  Geneva  logic 
can  make  it  appear,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  word 
of  God,  that  the  impenitent  shall  not  perish,  and  that 
idolaters  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  Luke  xiii 
3;  1  Cor.vi,  9. 

3.  If  the  incestuous  Corinthian  had  been  cut  off 
while  he  defiled  his  father's  bed,  the  justification  granted 
him  at  his  first  conversion,  far  from  saving  him  in  the 
day  of  judgment,  would  have  aggravated  his  condem- 
nation, and  caused  him  to  be  counted  worthy  of  a 
.much  severer  punishmetit  than  if  he  had  never 
known  the  way  of  righteousness, — never  been  jus- 
tified: unless  you  can  prove  that  Christ  would  have 
acquitted  him  upon  the  horrid  evidence  of  apostacy  and 
incest,  which  appears  to  me  as  diflJicult  a  task  as  to 
prove  that  Christ  and  Belial  are  one  and  the  same 
filthy  god. 

If  David  and  Bathsheba  had  been  run  through  by 
Uriah,  as  Zimri  and  Cozbi  were  by  Phineas ;  and  if 
they  had  died  in  their  flagrant  wickedness ;  no  previous 
justification,  no  Calvinian  imputation  of  righteousness, 
would  have  secured  their  justification  in  the  last  day. 
For  upon  the  evidence  of  adultery  and  premeditated 
murder,  they  would  infallibly  have  been  condemned ; 
according  to  (hose  awful  words  of  our  Lord,  I  come 
quickly  to  every  man  (here  is  no  exception  for  the 
pleasant  children)  according  as  Ms  work  shall  be,  not 
according  as  my  work  has  been:  Blessed  are  they 
that  do  his  commandments,  that  they  may  enter  in 
through  the  gates  into  the  city ;  for  without  are  dogs, 
WHOREMONGERS,  and  MURDERERS,  Rev.  xxii,  12,  &c. 
Should  you  say.  It  is  provided  in  the  decree  of  abso- 


56  BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER. 

lute  election,  that  adulterers  who  once  walked  with 
God  shall  not  die  till  they  have  repented ;  1.  I  demand 
proof  that  there  ever  was  such  a  decree.  In  the  second 
Pslam,  indeed,  I  read  about  God's  decree  respecting 
Christ  and  mankind  ;  but  it  is  the  very  reverse  of  Cal- 
vin's decree,  for  it  implies  general  redemption,  and 
conditional  eXeciion.  I  will  declare  the  decree :  thou 
art  my  son:  I  will  give  the  heathen /or  thine  in- 
heritance^ and  the  utmost  jtarts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession.  Kiss  the  iSon,  lest  he  be  angry,  and 
thou  perish  from  the  way. 

2.  This  evasion  is  founded  upon  a  most  absurd  pro- 
position, which  sews  pillows  to  the  arms  of  backsliders 
and  apostates,  by  promising  them  immortality  if  they 
persevere  in  sin.  But  setting  aside  the  absurdity  of 
supposing  that  old  Solomon,  for  example,  might  have 
kept  himself  alive  till  now  by  assiduously  worshipping 
Ashtaroth  ;  or,  which  is  the  same,  that  he  might  have 
put  off  death  by  putting  off  repentance,  because  he 
could  not  die  till  he  repented,  I  ask  where  is  this 
strange  doctrine  written  ?  Certainly  not  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament ;  for  God  asks  there  with  indignation,  When  the 
righteous  turneth  aicay  from  his  righteousness,  and 
committeth  iniquity,  shall  he  live  ?  No  ;  in  his 
sin  that  he  hath  sinned  shall  he  die,  Ezek.  xviii, 
24.  Much  less  in  the  New,  where  Christ  protests  that 
he  will  spew  lukewarm  believers  out  of  his  mouth, 
and  that  every  branch  in  him,  which  bears  not  fruit 
shall  be  taken  away  or  cut  off;  an  awfiil  threatening 
this,  which  was  executed  even  upon  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles ;  for  our  Lord  himself  says,  Those  that  thou 
GAVEST  me  I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost 
BUT  Judas,  who  fell  finally,  since  he  died  in  the  very 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  57 

act  of  self-murder,  and  is  particularly  called  the  son  of 
perdition. 

But  granting  you,  that  lest  Lot,  David,  and  Solomon 
should  be  condemned  by  works  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
they  were  to  be  immortal  till  they  repented  and  did  their 
first  works  ;  this  very  supposition  indicates,  that  till  then 
they  were  sons  of  perdition,  according  to  that  solemn 
declaration  of  Truth  manifest  in  the  flesh,  Except  ye 
repent,  ye  shall  all  perish. 

As  if  you  were  aware  of  this  difficulty,  p.  149,  you 
^ave  recourse  to  a  noted  distinction  in  Geneva  logic, 
by  which  you  hope  to  secure  your  favourite  doctrine,  as 
well  as  fond  Rachel  once  secured  her  favourite  tera- 
phim.  You  say,  "that  though  a  sinner,"  (David  for 
instance,  or  Solomon,)  "be  justified  in  the  sight  of 
God  by  Christ  alone,  he  is  declaratively  justified  by 
works  both  here  and  at  the  day  of  judgment." 

Now,  sir,  this'necessarily  implies,  that  though  David 
in  Uriah's  bed,  and  Solomon  at  the  shrine  of  Ashta- 
roth,  were  justified  in  the  sight  of  God  by  Christ's  chas- 
tity and  piety  imputed  to  them ;  yet  before  men,  and 
before  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  they  are  justified 
by  the  evidence  of  their  own  chastity  and  piety.  This 
distinction,  one  of  the  main  supports  of  Calvinism,  is 
big  with  absurdities :  for  if  it  be  just,  it  follows, 

1.  That  wliile  God  says  of  Solomon,  worshipping 
the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  He  is  still  a  true  believer, 
he  is  justified  from  all  things  ;  Christ  says.  By  his 
fruit  ye  shall  know  him;  he  is  an  impenitent,  unjus- 
tified idolater ;  and  St.  James,  siding  with  his  Master, 
says  roundly,  that  Solomon's  faith,  being  now  without 
works,  is  a  dead,  unjustifying  faith,  by  which,  as  well 
as  by  his  bad  works,  he  is  condemned  already.    Now, 

3* 


58  BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER. 

sir,  it  remains  that  you  should  give  up  Antiiiomian 
Calvinism,  or  tell  us  who  is  grossly  mistaken,  God  or 
Christ :  for  upon  your  scheme,  God  says  of  an  impeni- 
tent idolater  who  once  believed  in  him,  "  He  is  fully  jus- 
tified by  the  perfect  law  of  liberty  ;"  and  Christ  says, 
"  He  is  fully  condemned  by  the  same  law  !"  and  reason 
dictates  that  both  parts  of  a  full  contradiction  cannot 
be  true. 

Do  not  say,  that,  upon  the  Calvinian  plan,  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son  never  contradict  one  another  in  the 
matter  of  a  sinner's  justification,  by  the  imputation  of 
an  external  righteousness,  which  constitutes  a  sinner 
righteous  while  he  commits  all  sorts  of  crimes ;  and  if 
the  Son,  on  the  other  hand,  condemns  a  sinner  for  his 
words,  much  more  for  the  commission  of  adultery, 
idolatry,  and  murder ;  their  sentence  niust  be  as  fre- 
quently different  as  a  believer  acts  or  speaks  contrary 
to  the  law  of  liberty.  For  Christ  being  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day,  and  for  ever,  cannot  justif)',  he  must 
condemn  now,  as  well  as  in  the  day  of  judgment,  every 
man  who  now  acts  or  speaks  wickedly. 

Should  you  attempt  to  account  for  the  Father's  ima- 
ginary justification  of  an  impenitent  idolater,  by  bring- 
ing in  Calvin's  decree,  and  saying  that  God  reckoned 
Solomon  a  converted  man  at  the  shrine  of  Ashtaroth, 
because  he  had  absolutely  decreed  (o  give  him  restoring 
grace :  I  reply,  supposing  such  decrees  are  not  imagi- 
nary, is  it  not  absurd  to  say,  that  God  reckons  that  cold 
is  heat,  and  confounds  January  with  July,  because  he 
has  decreed  that  summer  shall  follow  winter  ?  There- 
fore, which  way  soever  you  turn,  absurdities  or  (impie- 
ties stare  you  in  the  face. 

2.  The  unreasonableness  of  Calvinism  will  appear 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER.  59 

to  you  more  glaringly  still,  if  you  suppose  for  a  mo- 
ment that  David  died  in  Uriah's  bed.  For  then,  accord- 
ing to  Crisp's  justification  by  imputation  of  Christ's 
chastity,  he  must  have  gone  straight  to  heaven ;  and 
according  to  our  Lord's  condemnation,  by  the  evidence 
of  personal  adultery,  he  must  have  gone  straight  to 
hell.  Thus  by  the  help  of  Geneva  logic,  so  sure  as 
the  royal  adulterer  might  have  died  before  Nathan 
stirred  him  up  to  repentance,  I  can  demonstrate,  that 
David  might  have  been  saved  and  damned,  in  heaven 
and  hell  at  the  same  time. 

3.  Your  distinction  insinuates,  that  there  will  be  two 
days  of  judgment ;  one  to  try  secretly  before  God.,  by 
imputed  sin  and  imputed  righteousness ;  and  the  other 
to  try  us  publicly  before  men  and  angels,  by  personal 
sin  and  personal  righteousness — a  new  doctrine  this, 
which  every  Christian  is  bound  to  reject,  not  only  be- 
cause the  Scripture  is  silent  about  it,  but  because  it  fixes 
a  shocking  duplicity  of  conduct  on  God ;  for  it  repre- 
sents him  first,  as  absolutely  saving  or  damning  the 
children  of  men,  according  to  his  own  capricious  impu- 
tation of  Christ's  righteousness,  or  Adam's  sin  ;  and 
then  as  being  desirous  of  making  a  show  of  justice 
before  men  and  angels,  by  pretending  to  justify  or 
condemn  people  according  to  their  works,  when,  in 
fact,  he  has  already  justified  or  condemned  them  with- 
out the  least  respect  to  their  works ;  for  say  Bishop 
Cowper  and  Mr.  Hill,  "  In  the  act  of  justification,  good 
works  have  no  place  :"  and  indeed  how  should  they,  if 
free  grace  and  free  wrath  have  unalterably  cast  the  lot 
of  all  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ! — or  in  other 
terms,  if  finished  salvation  and  finished  damnation 
have  the  stamp  of  God,  as  well  as  that  of  Calvin  1 


60  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

CHAPTER  V. 

REMARKS  ON  THE  STATE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 
JUDAS. 

Let  us  first  inquire  what  scriptures  were  fulfilled 
by  the  perdition  of  Judas.  They  are  either  general  or 
particular :  1.  The  general  are  such  as  these ;  The 
turning  away  of  the  simple  shall  slay  thern,  Prov. 
i,  32.  When  the  righteous  man  turneth  away  from 
his  righteousness,  [and  who  can  be  a  righteous  man 
without  true  faith  ?]  he  shall  die  in  his  sin.  Again  : 
When  I  say  to  the  righteous  that  he  shall  surely 
LIVE ;  if  he  trust  to  his  own  righteousness,  and  com- 
mit iniquity,  he  shall  die  for  it,  Ezek.  iii,  20 ; 
xxxiii,  13. 

2.  The  particular  scriptures  fulfilled  by  the  de- 
struction of  Judas  are  these :  Psalm  xli,  9,  Mine  own 
familiar  friend,  in  lohom  I  trusted,  icho  did  eat  of 
my  bread,  hath  lift  up  his  heel  against  me.  These 
words  are  expressly  applied  to  Judas  by  our  Lord  him- 
self, John  xiii,  18 ;  and  they  demonstrate  that  Judas 
was  not  always  a  cursed  hypocrite,  unless  Zelotes  can 
make  it  appear  that  our  Lord  reposed  his  trust  in  a 
hypocrite,  whom  he  had  chosen  for  his  own  familiar 
friend.  Again :  Let  his  days  he  few,  and  let  an- 
other take  his  office  or  bishopric.  These  words  are 
quoted  from  Psalm  cix,  and  particularly  applied  to  Judas 
by.  St.  Peter,  Acts  i,  20.  Now,  to  know  whether  Judas's 
perdition  was  absolute,  flowing  from  the  unconditional 
reprobation  of  God,  and  not  from  Judas's  foreseen  back- 
sliding, we  need  only  compare  the  two  psalms  where  his 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  61 

sin  and  perdition  are  described.  The  one  informs  us 
that,  before  he  lifted  up  his  heel  against  Christ,  he  was 
Christ s  own  familiar  friend,  and  so  sincere  that  the 
Searcher  of  hearts  trusted  in  him  ;  and  the  other  psalm 
describes  the  cause  of  Judas's  personal  reprobation  thus : 
Let  his  days  be  few,  and  let  another  take  his  office, 
<fec.,  BECAUSE  THAT  [though  he  once  knew  how  to 
tread  in  the  steps  of  his  merciful  Lord,  who  honoured 
him  with  a  share  in  his  familiar  friendship]  he 

REMEMBERED   NOT  tO  shoW  mercy,  but  PERSECUTED 

the  poor,  that  he  might  even  slay  the  broken  in  heart. 
As  he  loved  cursing,  so  let  it  come  unto  him, :  as  he 
delighted  not  in  blessi7ig,  so  let  it  be  far  from  him : 
as  he  clothed  him,self  toith  cursing  like  as  with  a 
garment,  so  let  it  come  into  his  bowels  like  loater. 
Psalm  cix,  8,  16,  (fcc.  Hence  it  is  evident  that,  if 
Judas  was  lost  agreeably  to  the  Scriptural  prediction 
of  his  PERDITION ;  and  if  that  very  prophecy  informs 
us  that  his  days  were  few,  because  he  remembered 
not  to  show  mercy,  S^c,  we  horribly  wrong  God  when 
we  suppose  that  this  means  because  God  never  re- 
Tnenibered  to  show  any  rnercy  to  Judas — because 
God  was  a  graceless  God  to  Iscariot  thousands  of 
years  before  the  infant  culprit  drew  his  first  breath. 
Brethren  and  fathers,  as  many  as  are  yet  concerned 
for  our  Creator's  honour  and  our  Saviour's  reputation, 
resolutely  bear  your  testimony  with  David  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  against  this  doctrine :  so  shall  Zelotes 
blush  to  charge  still  the  Father  of  mercies  with  the 
absolute  reprobation  of  Judas,  not  only  in  opposition  to 
all  good  nature,  truth,  and  equity,  but  against  as  plain 
a  declaration  of  God  as  any  that  can  be  found  in  all 
the  Scriptures :  Let  his  days  be  few,  and  let  another 


62  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

take  his  office,  (fee,  because  he  remembered  not  to 
shoio  mercy,  hut  persecuted  the  poor,  that  he  might 
[betray  innocent  blood,  and]  even  slay  the  broken  in 
heart. 

To  say  that  God  stood  in  need  of  Judas's  wickedness 
to  deliver  his  Son  to  the  Jews,  is  not  less  absurd  than 
impious.  God  has  no  need  of  sinful  men.  Any  boy 
that  had  once  heard  our  Lord  preach  in  the  temple, 
and  seen  him  go  to  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  might 
have  given  as  proper  an  information  to  the  high  priest, 
and  been  as  pro})er  a  guide  to  the  mob,  as  Judas ;  espe- 
cially as  Christ  was  not  less  determined  to  deliver  him- 
self than  the  Jews  were  to  apprehend  him.  With  re- 
gard to  the  notion  that  Judas  was  a  wicked  man — an 
absolute  unbeliever — a  cursed  hypocrite,  when  our  Lord 
gave  him  a  place  in  his  familiar  friendship  and  raised 
him  to  the  dignity  of  an  apostle,  is  both  unscriptural 
and  scandalous :  1.  Unscriptural ;  for  the  Scriptures 
inform  us,  that  when  the  Lord  ifnmediately  proceeds 
to  an  election  of  that  nature,  he  looketh  on  the  heart, 
1  Sam.  xvi,  7.  Again ;  when  eleven  apostles  prayed 
that  God  would  overrule  the  lot  which  they  were  about 
to  cast  for  a  proper  person  to  succeed  .Tudas,  they  said, 
Thou,  Lord,  knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men  ; 
shoiD  which  of  these  two  thou  hast  chosen,  that 
he  may  take  part  of  the  ministry  from  which 
Judas,  by  transgression,  fell,  Acts  i,  24.  Now, 
as  Judas  fell  by  transgression,  he  was  undoubt- 
edly raised  by  righteousness,  unless  Zelotes  can  make 
it  appear  that  he  rose  the  same  way  he  fell ;  and  that, 
as  he  fell  by  a  bribe,  so  he  gave  some  of  our  Lord's 
friends  a  bribe  to  get  himself  nominated  to  one  of  the 
twelve  apostolic  bishoprics.     But  even  then,  how  does 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  63 

this  a^ree  with  our  Lord  knowing  the  heart  and 
CHOOSING  accordingly? 

2.  This  notion  is  scandalous ;  it  sets  Christ  in  the 
most  contemptible  light.  How  will  he  condemn,  in  the 
great  day,  men  of  power  in  the  church,  who,  for  by- 
ends,  commit  the  care  of  souls  to  the  most  wicked  men '/ 
How  will  he  even  find  fault  with  them,  if  he  set  them 
the  example  himself,  in  passing  by  all  the  honest  and 
good  men  in  Judea,  to  go  and  set  the  apostolic  mitre 
upon  the  head  of  a  thief— of  a  wolf  in  sheep's  cloth- 
ing ?  In  the  name  of  wdsdom  I  ask.  Could  Christ  do 
this,  and  yet  remain  the  good  /Shepherd  ?  How  differ- 
ent is  the  account  that  St.  Paul  gives  of  his  own  elec- 
tion to  the  apostleship  :  "  The  glorious  gospel  of  God 
was  committed  to  my  trust,'''  says  he ;  "  and  I  thank 
Christ,  who  hath  enabled  we,  for  that  he  count- 
ed ME  FAITHFUL,  PUTTING  ME  into  the  ministry,'' 
1  Tim.  i,  11,  12.  Now,  if  we  represent  Christ  as  put- 
ting Paul  into  the  ministry,  because  he  counted  him 
FAITHFUL ;  and  Judas,  because  he  counted  him  un- 
faithful— a  thief— a  traitor — a  cursed  hypocrite;  do 
we  not  make  Christ  a  Proteus  1  Are  his  ways  equal  ? 
Has  he  not  two  weights?  God,  I  grant,  sets  some- 
times a  wicked  king  over  a  wicked  people,  but  it  is 
according  to  the  ordinary  course  of  human  affairs,  and 
in  his  anger;  to  chastise  a  sinful  nation  with  a  royal 
rod.  But  what  had  the  unformed  Christian  church 
done  to  deserve  being  scourged  with  the  rod  of  apos- 
tolic wickedness?  and  what  course  of  human  affairs 
obliged  our  Lord  to  fix  upon  a  wicked  man  in  a  neio 
election  to  a  new  dignity — and,  what  is  most  striking, 
in  an  election  to  which  he  proceeded  without  the  inter- 
position of  any/ree  agent  but  himself? 


4 


64  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

O  Zelotes,  mistake  me  not ;  if  I  plead  the  cause  of 
Judas's  sincerity,  when  he  left  all  to  follow  Christ,  and 
when  our  Lord  passed  by  thousands,  immediately  to 
choose  him  for  his  own  familiar  friend  in  whom  he 
trusted — for  a  preacher  of  his  gospel,  and  an  apostle 
of  his  church — I  do  it  not  so  much  for  Judas's  sake 
as  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  the  comfort  of  his 
timorous,  doubting  followers.  Alas!  if  Christ  could 
show  distinguishing  favour  and  familiar  friend- 
ship to  a  man  on  whom  he  had  absolutely  set  his 
black  seal  of  unconditional  reprobation — to  a  man 
whom,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  he  had,  with- 
out any  provocation,  marked  for  a  goat,  and  for  un- 
avoidable damnation  :  if  he  could  converse,  eat,  drink, 
travel,  lodge,  and  pray,  for  years,  with  a  man  to  whom 
he  bore  from  everlasting,  and  will  bear  to  all  eternity, 
a  settled  ill-will,  an  immortal  hatred — where  is  sin- 
cerity? where  is  the  Lamb  without  blemish?  the 
Lamb  of  God,  in  whose  mouth  no  guile  was  ever 
found  ?  If  Christ  be  such  a  sly  damner  of  one  of 
his  twelve  apostles  as  the  doctrines  of  grace  [so  called] 
represent  him  to  be,  who  can  trust  him  ?  What  pro- 
fessor, what  gospel  minister,  can  assure  himself  that 
Chiist  has  not  chosen  and  called  him  for  purposes  as 
sinister  as  those  for  which  it  is  supposed  that  Judas 
was  chosen  and  called  to  be  Christ's  familiar  friend  ? 
Nay,  if  Christ,  barely  on  account  of  Adam's  sin,  left 
Judas  in  the  lurch,  and  even  betrayed  him  into  a 
deeper  hell  by  a  mock  call,  may  he  not  have  done  the 
same  by  Zelotes,  by  me,  and  by  all  the  professors  in 
the  world  ?  O  ye  "  doctrines  of  grace,"  if  you  are  sweet 
as  honey,  in  the  mouth  of  Zelotes,  as  soon  as  I  have 
eaten  you,  my  belly  is  bitter;  poison  corrodes  my 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  65 

vitals ;  I  must  either  part  with  you,  my  reason,  or  my 
peace. 

To  conclude :  If  God  has  taken  such  particular  care 
to  clear  himself  from  the  charge  of  absolutely  ap- 
pointing Judas  to  be  a  son  of  perdition :  nay,  if  Christ 
himself  asserts  that  the  Father  gave  him  Judas,  as 
well  as  the  other  apostles :  and  if  the  Holy  Ghost 
declares,  by  the  mouth  of  David,  that  Judas  was  once 
Christ^  s  familiar  friend,  and,  as  such,  honoured  with 
his  trust  and  confidence ;  is  it  not  evident  that  the  doc- 
trine of  free  wrath,  and  of  any  man's  (even  Judas's) 
absolute  unconditional  reprobation,  is  as  gross  an  im- 
position upon  Bible  Christians  as  it  is  a  foul  blot  upon 
all  the  divine  perfections  ? 

I  hope  nobody  will  charge  me  with  blasphemy  for 
saying  that  our  Lord  called  Judas  with  the  same  sin- 
cerity with  which  he  called  his  other  disciples.  Heaven 
forbid  that  any  Christian  should  suppose  the  Lamb  of 
God  called  Iscariot  to  get  him  into  the  pit  of  perdition, 
as  the  fowler  does  an  unhappy  bird  which  he  wants  to 
get  into  a  decoy  !  Judas  readily  answered  the  call,  and 
undoubtedly  believed  in  Christ,  as  well  as  the  rest  of 
the  apostles  :  for  St.  John  says,  "  This  beginning  of 
miracles  did  Jesus  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  and  m,ani- 
fested  forth  his  glory,  and  his  disciples  [of  whom 
Judas  was  one]  believed  in  himJ'  His  faith  was  true, 
so  far  as  it  went ;  for  he  was  one  of  the  little  flock  to 
whom  it  was  God^s  good  pleasure  to  give  the  king- 
dom,, Luke  xii,  32.  Our  Lord  pronounced  him  blessed 
with  the  rest  of  his  disciples,  Matt,  xiii,  16 ;  and  con- 
ditionally promised  him  one  of  the  twelve  apostolic 
crowns  in  his  glory,  Matt,  xix,  28. 

If  you  say  that  "  he  was  alioays  a  traitor  and  a 


66  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

hypocrite,"  you  run  into  endless  difficulties ;  for,  1.  You 
make  Christ  countenance,  by  his  example,  all  bishops 
who  knowingly  ordain  wicked  men ;  all  patrons  who  give 
them  livings ;  and  all  kings  who  prefer  ungodly  men 
in  the  church.  2.  You  suppose  that  Christ,  who  would 
not  receive  an  occasional  testimony  from  an  evil  spirit, 
not  only  sent  a  devil  to  preach  and  baptize  in  his  name, 
but,  at  his  return,  encouraged  him  in  his  horrid  dissi- 
mulation, by  bidding  him  rejoice  thai  his  name  icas 
written  in  heaven.  3.  You  believe  that  the  faithful 
and  true  Witness,  in  whose  mouth  no  guile  was  ever 
found,  gave  this  absurd,  hypocritical  charge  to  a  goat, 
an  arch  hypocrite,  a  devil:  ^'■Behold,  I  send  you  forth 
as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  but  fear  not,  the 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  A  sparrow 
shall  not  fall  to  the  ground  without  your  Father, 
and  ye  are  of  m-ore  value  than  many  sparrows. 
Do  not  premeditate,  it  shall  be  given  you  what  you 
shall  speak ;  for  it  is  not  you  that  speak ;  but  the 
Spirit  of  your  Father  which  speaketh  in  you^'' 

When  our  Lord  spoke  thus  to  Judas,  he  was  a  sheep, 
i.  e,,  he  heard  Christ's  voice  and  followed  him.  But, 
alas  !  he  was  afterward  taken  by  the  bright  shining  of 
silver  and  gold,  as  David  was  by  the  striking  beauty 
of  Uriah's  wife.  And  when  he  had  admitted  the  base 
temptation,  our  Lord,  with  the  honesty  of  a  master  and 
tenderness  of  a  Saviour,  said,  '■'■Have  not  I  chosen  you 
twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  ?"  He  has  let  the 
tempter  into  his  heart.  This  severe,  though  indirect 
reproof,  reclaimed  Judas  for  a  time ;  as  a  similar  rebuke 
checked  Peter  on  another  occasion.  Nor  was  it,  pro- 
bably, till  near  the  end  of  our  Lord's  ministry  that  he 
began  to  be  unfaithful  in  the  mamm,on  of  unright- 


BEAUTIES  OF    FLETCHER.  67 

eousness :  and  even  then,  Christ  kindly  warned,  with- 
out exposing  him. 

Some,  indeed,  think  our  Lord  wafe  partial  to  Peter ; 
but  I  do  not  see  it :  for  with  equal  love  and  faithfulness 
he  warned  all  his  disciples  of  their  approaching  fall,  and 
mentioned  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  Judas's  and 
Peter's  apostacy.     "  Ay,  but  he  prayed  for  Peter,  that 
his  faith  might  not  fail."     And  is  this  a  proof  that  he 
never  prayed  for  Judas?    That  he  always  excepted 
him  when  he  prayed  for  his  disciples;  and  that  he 
would  have  excepted  him,  if  he  had  been  alive  when 
'  he  interceded  for  all  his  murderers  ?     "  However,  he 
looked  at  Peter,  to  cover  him  with  penitential  shame." 
Nay,  he  did  more  than  this  for  Judas ;  for  he  pointed 
at  him,  first  indirectly,  and  then  directly,  to  bring  him 
to  a  sense  of  his  crime.     But,  supposing  our  Lord  had 
not  at  all  endeavoured  to  stop  him  in  his  dreadful 
career,  would  this  have  been  a  proof  of  his  reprobating 
partiality  ?    Is  it  not  said,  that  the  Lord  weigheth  the 
spirits  ?    As  such,  did  he  not  see  that  Judas  offended 
of  malicious  wickedness  and  calm  deliberation  :  and 
that  Peter  would  offend  merely  through  fear  and  sur- 
prise ?    Supposing,  therefore,  he  had  made  a  difference 
between  them,  would  it  be  right  to  account  for  it  by 
Calvinian  election  and  reprobation,  when  the  difference 
might  so  naturally  be  accounted  for  from  the  different 
state  of  their  hearts  and  nature  of  their  falls  ?   Was  it 
not  highly  agreeable  to  the  notions  we  have  of  justice, 
and  the  declarations  we  read  in  the  Scriptures,  that  our 
Lord  should  reprobate,  or  give  up  Judas,  when  he  saw 
him  immoveably  fixed  in  his  apostacy,  and  found  that 
the  last  hour  of  his  day  of  grace  was  now  expired  ? 
From  all  these  circumstances,  I  hope  I  may  conclude 


68  BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER. 

that  Judas  was  not  always  a  hj^ocrite  ;  that  he  may 
be  properly  ranked  among  apstates,  that  is,  among 
those  who  truly  faH  from  God,  and  therefore  were  once 
truly  in  him;  and  that  our  Lord  spoke  no  untruth 
when  he  called  the  Spirit  of  God  the  Spirit  of  Judas's 
Father,  without  making  any  difference  between  him 
and  the  other  disciples. 

If  you  ask  how  he  fell?  I  reply,  that  overlooking 
an  important  part  of  our  Lord's  pastoral  charge  to  him. 
He  that  endureth  unto  the  end  shall  be  saved,  he 
dallied  with  worldly  temptations  till  the  evil  spirit, 
which  was  gone  out  of  him,  entered  in  again,  with 
seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself,  and  took 
possession  of  his  heart,  which  was  once  swept  from 
reigning  sin,  and  garnished  with  the  graces  which 
adorn  the  Christian  in  his  infant  state.  Thus,  like 
Hymeneus,  Philetus,  Demas,  and  other  apostates,  by 
putting  away  a  good  conscience,  concertiing  faith 
he  made  shipwreck,  and  evidenced  the  truth  of  God's 
declaration,  "  When  the  righteous  turneth  away  from 
his  righteousness,  all  his  righteousfiess  that  he  hath 
done  shall  not  be  mentioned :  in  his  sin  that  he  hath 
sinned  he  shall  die." 

Objection.  "But  how  could  Judas  be  redeemed 
by  Christ  ?  Was  not  his  soul  actually  in  hell,  be- 
yond the  reach  of  redemption,  when  Christ  bled  upon 
the  cross  ?" 

Answer.  The  fallacy  of  this  argument  will  be  suffi- 
ciently pointed  out  by  retorting  it  thus  :  "  How  could 
Christ  redeem  David  ?  Was  not  David's  soul  actually 
in  heaven,  beyond  the  need  of  redemption,  when  Christ 
bled  upon  the  ignominious  tree  ?"   The  truth  is :  From 


BEAUTIES   OF    FLETCHER.  69 

the  foundation  of  the  world  Christ  intentionally  shed 
his  blood,  to  procure  a  temporary  salvation  for  all 
men,  and  an  eternal  salvation  for  them  that  obey 
him,  and  work  out  their  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling.  With  respect  to  David  and  Judas  in  the 
day  of  their  visitation,  through  Christ's  intended 
sacrifice,  they  had  both  an  accepted  time;  and  while 
the  one,  by  penitential  faith,  secured  eternal  salva- 
tion, the  other,  by  obstinate  unbelief,  totally  fell 
from  initial  salvation,  and,  by  his  own  sin,  went  to 
HIS  OWN,  and  not  to  Adam's  place. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FARTHER  REMARKS  ON  THE  JUSTIFICATION  OF 

INFANTS. 

In  the  Third  Check,  to  make  my  readers  sensible 
that  Calvinism  has  confusion  and  not  Scripture  for  its 
foundation,  I  made  a  Scriptural  distinction  between  the 
four  degrees  that  constitute  a  saint's  eternal  justifica- 
tion ;  and  each  of  these  degrees  I  called  a.  justification, 
because  I  thought  I  could  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God, 
without  exposing  the  truth  of  the  gospel  to  the  smiles 
of  Christian  wits. 

From  Rom.  v,  18,  I  proved  the  justification  of  in- 
fants: '^As  by  the  offence  of  Adam  [says  the  apostle] 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  even 
so,  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  to  justification  of  life."  In  support  of 
this  justification  which  comes  upon  all  men  in  their 
infancy,  I  now  advance  the  following  arguments : 


70  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

1.  The  Scripture  tells  us,  that  Christ  in  all  things 
has  the  pre-eminence :  but  if  Adam  be  a  more  public 
persoa,  a  more  general  representative  of  mankind,  than 
Jesus  Christ,  it  is  plain  that,  in  this  grand  respect,  Adam 
hath  the  pre-eminence  over  Christ.  Now,  as  this  can- 
not be,  as  Christ  is  at  least  equal  to  Adam,  it  follows 
that,  as  Adam  brought  a  general  condemnation  and 
a  universal  seed  of  death  upon  all  infants,  so  Christ 
brings  upon  them  a  general  justification  and  a  uni- 
versal seed  of  life. 

2.  I  never  yet  saw  a  Calvinist  who  denied  that 
Christ  died  for  Adam.  Now,  if  the  Redeemer  died  for 
our  first  parent,  he  imdoubtedly  expiated  the  original 
sin,  the  first  transgression  of  Adam.  And  if  Adam's 
original  sin  was  atoned  for  and  forgiven  to  him,  as  the 
Calvinists,  I  think,  generally  grant,  does  it  not  follow 
that  all  infants  are  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  yet, 
through  the  redemption  of  Christ,  they  are  in  a  state 
of  favour  or  justification  ?  For  how  could  God  damn 
to  all  eternity  any  of  Adam's  children  for  a  sin  which 
Christ  expiated? — a  sin  which  was  forgiven  almost  six 
thousand  years  ago  to  Adam,  who  committed  it  in 
person  1 

3.  The  force  of  this  observation  would  strike  our 
Calvinist  brethren,  if  they  considered  that  we  were  not 
less  in  Adam's  loins  when  God  gave  his  Son  to  Adam 
in  the  grand  original  gospel  promise  than  when  Eve 
prevailed  on  him  to  eat  the  forbidden  fruit.  As  all  in 
him  were  included  in  the  covenant  of  perfect  obedience 
before  the  fall,  so  in  him  all  were  Ukewise  interested  in 
the  covenant  of  grace  and  mercy  after  the  fall :  and 
we  have  full  as  much  reason  to  believe  that  some  of 
Adam's  children  never  fell  with  him  firom  a  state  of 


BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER.  71 

probation,  according  to  the  old  covenant,  as  to  suppose 
that  some  of  them  never  rose  with  him  to  a  state  of 
probation  upon  the  terms  of  the  new  covenant,  which 
stands  upon  better  promises. 

Thus,  if  all  received  an  unspeakable  injury  by  being 
seminally  in  Adam  when  he  fell,  according  to  the  first 
covenant,  we  all  received  also  an  unspeakable  bless- 
ing by  being  in  bis  loins  when  God  spiritually  raised 
him  up,  and  placed  him  upon  gospel  ground.  Nay, 
the  blessing  which  we  have  in  Christ  is  far  superior  to 
the  curse  which  Adam  entailed  upon  us.  We  stand 
our  trial  upon  much  more  advantageous  terms  than 
Adam  did  in  Paradise.  For,  according  to  the  first  cove- 
nant, judgment  was  by  one  offence  to  condemna- 
tion. One  sin  sunk  the  transgressor.  But  according 
to  the  free  gift,  or  second  covenant,  provision  is  made 
in  Christ  for  repenting  of,  and  rising  from,  many 
offences  unto  justification,  Rom.  v,  16. 

4.  Calvinists  are  now  ashamed  of  consigning  infants 
to  the  torments  of  hell ;  they  begin  to  extend  their  elec- 
tion to  them  all.  Even  the  translator  of  Zanchius  be- 
lieves that  all  children  who  die  in  their  infancy  are 
saved.*  Now,  sir,  if  all  children,  or  any  of  them,  are 
saved,  they  are  unconditionally  justified,  according  to 
our  plan  ;  for  they  cnxmol  he  jv^tijied  by  faith,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Paul's  doctrine,  Rom.  v,  1 :  as  it  is  granted 
that  those  who  are  not  capable  of  understanding  are 
not  capable  of  believing.  Nor  can  they  be  justified  by 
works,  according  to  St.  James's  doctrine,  chap,  ii,  24 : 
for  they  are  not  accountable  for  their  works  who  do  not 
know  good  fi^om  evil,  nor  their  right  hand  from  their 

*  If  all  are  saved  who  die  in  infancy,  and  Calvinian  election  be 
true,  then  none  but  the  elect  die  in  infancy ! 


72  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

left.  Nor  can  they  be  justified  hy  words,  according  to 
our  Lord's  doctrine,  Matt,  xii,  37 :  because  they  cannot 
yet  form  one  articulate  sound.  It  follows,  then,  that  all 
infants  must  be  damned,  or  justified  without  faith, 
words,  or  works,  according  to  our  first  distinction.  But 
as  you  believe  they  are  saved,  the  first  degree  of  an 
adult  saint's  justification  is  not  less  founded  upon  your 
own  sentiments  than  upon  reason  and  Scripture. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  A  BELIEVER'S  JUSTIFICATION  BY 
WORKS  IS  RECONCILED  WITH  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  A 
SINNER'S  JUSTIFICATION  BY  GRACE. 

Having  answered  the  arguments  which  you  have 
advanced  against  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  works 
in  the  great  day,  permit  me  to  consider  what  may  far- 
ther be  advanced  against  it. 

1.  We  cry  to  sinners,  ^^  By  grace  shall  ye  be  saved, 
through  faith,  in  the  day  of  your  conversion ;"  but  to 
believers  we  say,  "  By  grace  shall  ye  be  saved,  through 
works,  in  the  day  of  judgment.  Turn,  therefore,  ye 
sinners :  and,  ye  saints,  work  out  your  own  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling." 

When  the  apostle  excludes  works  from  having  any 
hand  in  our  justification  or  salvation,  it  is  only  when 
he  speaks  of  the  justification  of  sintiers,  whether  we 
consider  them  as  infants  or  adults.  For  if  he  excluded 
works  from  the  justification  of  believers,  either  in  the 
day  of  trial  or  in  the  day  of  judgment,  he  would  grossly 
contradict  himself:    but  now  he  is  quite  consistent. 


BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER.  73 

Mr.  Wesley  and  I,  through  grace,  gladly  join  him  and 
Titus  when  they  say,  "  Not  by  works  .of  righteousness 
which  toe  have  done,  [either  in  our  infancy  or  before 
the  day  of  our  conversion,]  but  according  to  his  mercy 
he  saved  us,  by  the  tcashing  of  regeneration ;  that 
being  justified  by  his  grace,  we  should  be  made  heirs 
according  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life!'' 

Inquire  we  now,  what  are  those  works  which  St. 
Paul  opposes  io  faith  and  free  gra^e  ;  and  I  observe, 

1.  That  it  is  not  absolutely  every  work,  or  else  he 
would  oppose  faith  to  itself;  for  believing  is  as  much  a 
work  of  the  heart  as  walking  to  church  is  a  work  of 
the  feet. 

2.  Neither  does  the  apostle  oppse  to  faith  loorks  meet 
for  repentance;  for  he  strongly  recommended  them 
himself.  Acts  xxvi,  20.  Nor  the  works  of  upright  Gen- 
tiles that  fear  God,  and  believe  he  is  a  rewarder  of 
those  who  diligently  seek  him.  If  St.  Paul  represented 
these  works  as  "  dung  and  filthy  rags,"  he  would  con- 
tradict the  angel  who  said  to  Cornelius,  "  Thy  prayers 
and  alms  [far  from  being  rejected]  are  come  up  for 
a  m,emorial  before  GodP 

3.  Much  less  did  it  ever  come  into  the  apostle's  mind 
to  oppose  the  work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love  to  faith 
and  free  grace ;  for  they  are  no  more  contrary  to  each 
other  than  the  stalk  and  the  ear  are  contrary  to  the 
root  that  bears  them.  Far  from  despising  these  works, 
see  how  honourably  he  speaks  of  them  :  "  We  give 
thanks  always  for  you,  remembering  without  ceasing 
your  work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. —  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget 
your  work  and  labour  that  proceedeth  of  love. — Al- 
ways abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. — Charge 

4 


74  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

the  rich  that  they  he  rich  in  good  works,  laying  up 
for  themselves  a  good  foundation,  that  they  may  lay 
hold  on  eternal  lifeP 

For  want  of  attending  to  this,  some  have  prepos- 
terously opposed  the  righteousness  of  faith  to  personal 
hoUness.  The  latter  they  look  upon  as  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  the  law,  and  which  the  apostle  ex- 
plodes, Phil,  iii,  9.  Thus  they  suppose  that  St.  Paul 
formed  the  horrid  wish  of  not  being  found  clothed  with 
holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord; 
not  considering  that  the  pardon  of  sins  and  true  holi- 
ness, the  two  inseparable  fruits  of  a  living  faith,  consti- 
tute the  righteousness  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousjiess  which  is  of  God  hy  faith. 
A  righteousness  this  that  far  exceeds  the  outside  right- 
eousness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  with  which 
the  apostle  had  too  long  been  satisfied,  and  which  he 
so  justly  despised  after  his  conversion. 

But  the  works  which  St.  Paul  excludes  are, 
1.  The  works  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses,  gene- 
rally called  the  works  of  the  laio.  On  these  works 
most  Jewish  converts  laid  a  very  great  stress ;  and  some 
of  them  went  so  far  into  this  error  as  to  say  to  their 
Gentile  brethren,  ^^  Except  ye  he  circumcised  after  the 
manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  he  saved,^'  Acts  xv,  1. 
Hence  the  apostle  wrote,  verse  24,  "  Certain  men,  sub- 
verting your  souls,  have  troubled  you,  saying.  Ye  must 
he  circumcised,  and  keep  the  law."  Hence,  also 
it  is  said,  that  when  St.  Paul  shaved,  and  was  at 
charges  to  purify  himself  in  the  temple,  he  icalked 
orderly  and  kept  the  law.  Acts  xxi,  24. 

2.  The  apostle  likewise  opposed  to  faith  those  hypo- 
critical deeds  of  the  moral  law,  those  external  works 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  75 

of  partial  piety  and  ostentatious  mercy  by  which  proud 
Pharisees  think  to  atone  for  their  sins  and  purchase 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Such  works  of  unbeHef  and 
spiritual  pride  cannot  be  too  much  decried.  They  do 
infinite  mischief;  they  draw  a  veil  over  our  apostacy ; 
they  breed  self-complacence,  generate  self-conceit,  and 
feed  the  opposition  of  Pharisees  against  the  gospel. 
Hence  their  contempt  of  Christ,  their  enmity  against 
his  people,  their  ridiculing  the  atonement,  despising 
others,  and  boasting  of  their  own  goodness.  St.  Paul 
was  the  more  zealous  in  bearing  his  testimony  against 
•  these  fruits  of  self-righteousness,  as  he  knew,  by  fatal 
experience,  that  they  are  the  reverse  oi  fruits  meet  for 
repentance,  and  of  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God 
by  faith;  and  that  they  stood  yet  in  the  way  of  the 
Jews  as  much  as  they  once  did  in  his  own. 

3.  The  apostle  excludes  all  the  works  of  impious 
moralists,  who  make  no  scruple  of  robbing  God  be- 
cause they  are  just  to  man ;  all  the  works  of  Anti- 
nomian  believers,  who,  hke  the  Galatians,  pray  to  the 
Lord,  and  devour  their  neighbours — or,  like  the  Jews, 
fast  to-day,  and  to-morrow  strike  with  the  fist  of  wicked- 
ness ;  all  the  works  which  are  not  ultimately  referred 
to  the  glory  of  God  thiough  Jesus  Clirist ;  and  all  the 
works  whose  gracious  rewardableness  is  not  acknow- 
ledged to  flow  from  the  original  and  proper  merit  of  the 
Redeemer.  Those  works  the  apostle  justly  discards, 
as  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  grace,  because  they  do 
not  spring  from  the  grace  of  God,  but  from  the  pride 
of  man.  He  explodes  them  as  opposite  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  faith,  because  they  are  not  the  works  of  humble 
faith,  but  of  conceited  unbelief;  the  constant  language 
of  faith  being,  "iVo/  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 


76  BEAUTIES    OP  FLETCHER. 

but  unto  thy  name  give  glory,  for  thy  mercy  and 
truths  sake." 

Let  the  judicious  reader  say,  if  by  thus  distinguish- 
ing between  the  justification  of  a  sinner  in  the  day  of 
conversion  and  the  justification  of  a  saint  in  the  great 
day ;  and  by  making  a  proper  diflfeience  between  the 
works  of  an  humble  believer,  which  the  apostle  justly 
extols,  and  the  works  of  a  proud  Pharisee,  which  he 
justly  decries;  we  do  not  perfectly  reconcile  him  to 
himself,  and  suflficiently  secure  the  honour  of  free 
grace  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

RECONCILING  CONCESSIONS  RESPECTING  ELECTION 
AND  REPROBATION. 

Some  readers  will  probably  think  that  I  have  made 
the  Calvinists  too  many  concessions  in  the  following 
pages :  but  I  am  persuaded  that  I  have  granted  them 
nothing  but  what  they  have  a  Scriptural  right  to ;  and 
God  forbid  that  any  Protestant  should  grant  them  less ! 

1.  We  grant  that  there  is  an  election  o/"  distinguish- 
ing grace :  but  we  show  that  this  election  is  not  Cal- 
vinian  election ;  thousands  being  partakers  of  the  par- 
tial election  of  distinguishing  grace  who  have  no  share 
in  the  impartial  election  of  distributive  justice;  two 
distinct  elections  these,  the  confounding  of  which  has 
laid  the  foundation  of  numberless  errors.  See  Scrip- 
ture Scales,  sec.  xii. 

2.  We  grant  the  Calvinists  that  initial  salvation  is 
merely  by  a  decree  of  divine  grace  through  Jesus  Christ. 


BEAUTIES  OF   FLETCHER.  77 

But  we  assert  that  eternal  salvation  is  both  by  a  decree 
of  divine  grace  and  of  distributive  justice ;  God  reward- 
ing in  Christ  with  an  eternal  life  of  glory  those  believers 
who,  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for 
glory,  honour,  and  immortality. 

3.  We  grant  that,  although  God,  as  a  judge,  is  no 
respecter  of  persons,  yet,  as  a  benefactor,  he  is,  and, 
of  consequence,  has  a  right  to  be,  so  far  a  respecter  of 
persons  as  to  bestow  his  favours  in  various  degrees 
upon  his  creatures ;  deahng  them  to  some  with  a  more 
sparing  hand  than  he  does  to  others. 

4.  We  grant  that,  although  God  punishes  no  one 
with  eternal  death  for  original  and  necessary  sin, 
yet  when  sin,  which  m,ight  have  been  avoided  by  the 
help  of  creating  or  redeeming  grace,  has  been  volun- 
tarily and  personally  committed,  God  does  punish 
i(and,  of  consequence,  has  a  right  to  punish)  with  eter- 
nal death  some  offenders  more  quickly  than  he  does 
others;  his  showing,  in  such  a  case,  mercy  and  justice 
upon  gospel  terms  to  whom  he  pleases,  and  as  soon  or 
late  as  he  pleases,  being  undoubtedly  the  privilege  of 
his  sovereign  goodness  or  justice — an  awful  privilege 
this,  which  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  evangelical  law 
of  liberty,  and  with  which  the  Calvinists  have  absurdly 
built  their  twin  doctrines  of  finished  salvation  and 
finished  damnation;  not  considering  that  such  doc- 
trines stain  the  first  gospel  axiom,  and  totally  destroy 
the  second. 

The  nature  of  this  concession  may  be  illustrated  by 
an  example.  Two  unconverted  soldiers  march  up  to 
the  enerjjy.  Both  have  avoidably  transgressed  the 
third  commandment :  the  one  by  calling  fifty  times 
for  his  damnation,  and  the  other  five  hundred  times. 


78  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

Now,  both  have  personally  forfeited  their  initial  salva- 
tion, and,  continuing  impenitent,  God,  as  a  righteous 
avenger  of  profaneness,  may  justly  suffer  i\\&  fifty-pence 
debtor  to  fall  in  the  battle,  and  be  instantly  hurried  to 
the  damnation  he  had  madly  prayed  for ;  and,  as  a 
long-suffering,  merciful  Creator,  he  may  suffer  the  five 
hundred  pence  debtor — I  mean  the  soldier  who  had 
sinned  with  a  higher  hand — to  walk  out  of  the  field 
unhurt,  and  to  be  spared  for  years ;  following  him  still 
with  new  offers  of  mercy,  which  the  wretch  is  so  happy 
as  to  embrace  at  last.  Here  is  evidently  a  higher  degree 
of  the  distinguishing  grace  which  was  manifested  to- 
ward Manasseh,  as  it  has  also  been  to  many  other 
grievous  sinners.  But  by  this  peculiar  favour  God 
violates  no  promise,  and  he  acts  in  perfect  consistency 
with  himself:  for  when  two  people  have  personally 
forfeited  their  eternal  salvation  by  one  avoidable  sin, 
of  which  they  do  not  repent  when  they  might,  he  does 
no  injustice  to  the  fifty-pence  debtor  when  he  calls  him 
first  to  an  account ;  and  he  greatly  magnifies  his  long- 
suffering  when  he  continues  to  reprieve  the  five  hun- 
dred pence  debtor. 

By  this  sparing  use  of  astonishing  mercy,  God 
strongly  guards  the  riches  of  his  grace.  This  inferior 
degree  of  forbearance  makes  thoughtful  sinners  stand 
in  awe;  as  not  knowing  but  the  first  sin  they  shall 
commit  will  actually  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  ini- 
quities, and  provoke  the  Almighty  to  swear  in  his 
righteous  anger,  that  their  day  of  grace  is  ended.  To 
justify,  therefore,  God's  conduct  toward  men  in  this 
respect,  we  need  only  observe,  that  if  distinguishing 
grace  did  not  make  the  difference  which  we  grant  to 
the  Calvinists,  perverse  firee-will  would  draw  amazang 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  79 

strength  from  the  unwearied  patience  of  free  grace. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  that  God  had  ensured  to  all 
inen  a  day  of  grace  of  fourscore  years,  would  not  all 
sinners  think  it  time  enough  to  repent  at  the  age  of 
threescore  years  and  nineteen?  Therefore,  through  the 
clouds  of  darkness  which  surround  us,  reason  sees  far 
into  the  propriety  with  which  distinguishing  grace  dis- 
penses its  stiperior  blessings.  But  all  the  partiality 
which  that  grace  ever  displayed  never  amounted  to  one 
single  grain  of  Calvinian  reprobation :  because  God,  as 
a  righteous  judge,  lets  every  man  have  a  fair  trial  for 
his  life.  Nor  will  all  the  sophisms  in  the  world  recon- 
cile the  ideas  which  the  Scriptures  and  rectified  reason 
give  us  of  divine  justice,  with  a  doctrine  which  repre- 
sents God  as  condemning  to  eternal  torments  a  majority 
of  men  for  the  necessary,  unavoidable  consequences  of 
Adam's  sin :— a  sin  this,  which,  upon  the  scheme  of 
absolute  predestination  of  all  events,  was  also  made 
unavoidable  and  necessary. 

5.  We  grant,  that  although  Christ  died  to  purchase 
a  day  of  [initial]  salvation  for  all  men,  yet  he  never 
died  to  purchase  eternal  salvation  for  any  adults 
but  them  that  believe,  obey,  and  are  faithful  unto 
death ;  and  that,  of  consequence,  the  redemption  of 
mankind  by  Jesus  Christ  is  general  and  unconditional 
with  respect  to  initial  salvation,  but  particidar  and 
conditional  with  respect  to  eternal  salvation ;  except 
in  the  case  of  infants  who  die  before  actual  sin.  These, 
and  only  these,  are  blessed  with  unconditional  election 
and  finished  salvation,  in  the  Calvinistic  sense  of  these 
phrases  :  these  are  irresistibly  saved,  and  eternally  ad- 
mitted into  one  of  the  many  mansions  of  our  heavenly 
Father's  house.    Free  grace,  to  the  honour  of  our  Lord's 


80 


BEAUTIES  OF   FLETCHER. 


meritorious  infancy,  absolutely  saves  them,  without  any 
concurrence  of  their  free  will.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that 
God  should  do  it  unavoidably;  for  as  they  never  were 
personally  capable  of  working  with  free  grace,  i.  e., 
of  working  out  their  salvation,  so  they  never  were  in 
a  capacity  of  working  against  free  grace,  or  oi  begin- 
ning to  work  their  damnation.  Having  never  com- 
mitted an  act  of  sin,  God  can,  consistently  with  the 
gospel,  save  them  eternally  without  any  act  of  repent- 
ance. In  a  word,  infants  having  no  unrighteousness 
but  that  of  the^r*^  Adam,  reason,  as  well  as  Scripture, 
dictates  that  they  need  no  righteousness  but  that  of 
the  second  Adam. 

6.  From  the  preceding  concession  it  follows,  that 
obedient,  persevering  behevers  are  God's  elect,  in  the 
particular  and  full  sense  of  the  word ;  being  elected  to 
the  reward  of  eternal  hfe  in  glory: — a  reward  this 
from  which  they  who  die  in  a  state  of  apostacy  or  im- 
penitency  have  cut  themselves  off  by  not  making  their 
calling  and  election  sure. 

7.  We  grant  that  none  of  these  peculiar  elect  shall 
ever  perish,  though  they  would  have  perished  had  they 
not  been  faithful  unto  death :  and  we  allow  that,  with 
respect  to  God^s  foreknoioledge  and  omniscietice,  their 
number  is  certain.  But  we  steadily  assert  that,  with 
regard  to  the  doctrines  of  general  redemption,  of  God's 
covenanted  mercy,  of  man's  free  agency,  of  divine 
justice,  and  of  a  day  in  which  the  Lord  shall  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness :  we  steadily  assert,  I  say, 
with  regard  to  these  doctrines,  the  number  of  the  pecu- 
liar elect  might  be  greater  or  less,  without  the  least 
exertion  of  forcible  grace  or  of  forcible  wrath.  For 
it  might  be  greater,  if  more  laicked  and  slothful 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER.  81 

servants  improved  instead  of  burying  their  talents: 
and  it  might  be  less,  if  more  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vants grew  faint  in  their  minds,  and  drew  hack  to 
perdition,  before  they  had  fought  their  good  fight 
out,  kept  the  faith,  and  finished  their  course. 

8.  And  lastly,  we  grant  that,  according  to  the  elec- 
tion of  distinguishing  grace,  which  is  the  basis  of  the 
various  dispensations  of  divine  grace  toward  the  children 
of  men,  Christ  died  to  purchase  more  privileges  for  the 
Christian  church  than  for  the  Jews,  more  for  the 
Jews  than  for  the  Gentiles :  for  it  is  indubitable  that 
God,  as  a  sovereign  Benefactor,  may,  without  a 
shadow  of  injustice,  dispense  his  favours,  spiritual 
and  temporal,  as  he  pleases :  it  being  enough  for 
the  display  of  his  goodness,  and  for  the  exciting  of 
our  gratitude,  1.  That  the  least  of  his  heathen  servants 
had  received  a  talent,  with  means,  capacities,  and  op- 
portunities of  improving  it,  even  to  everlasting  happi- 
ness ;  2.  That  God  never  desires  to  reap  a  hundred 
measures  of  spiritual  wheat,  where  he  only  sows  a 
handful  of  spiritual  barley ;  3.  That  the  least  degree 
of  his  improvable  goodness  is  a  seed  which  nothing 
but  our  avoidable  unfaithfulness  hinders  from  bringing 
forth  fiuit  to  eternal  life  and  glory. 

By  making  these  guarded  concessions,  I  conceive, 
we  rectify  the  mistakes  of  Arminius ;  we  secure  the 
doctrine  of  grace  in  all  its  branches,  while  Calvinism 
secures  only  irresistible  grace,  by  which  infants  and 
complete  idiots  are  eternally  saved ;  we  turn  the  edge 
and  break  the  point  of  all  the  arguments  by  which  the 
Calvinian  doctrines  of  grace  are  defended  ;  and  tear  in 
pieces  the  cloak  with  which  the  Antinomians  cover 
their  dangerous  error. 

4* 


82  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

Had  Arminians,  and  all  the  ancient  and  modern 
Semipelagians,  granted  to  their  opponents  what  we 
grant  to  ours,  Calvinism  would  never  have  risen  to  its 
tremendous  height.  If  you  try  to  stop  a  great  river, 
refusing  it  liberty  to  flow  in  the  deep  channel  which 
nature  has  assigned  it,  you  only  make  it  foam,  rise, 
rage,  overflow  its  banks,  and  carry  devastation  far  and 
near.  The  only  way  to  make  judicious  Calvinists  the 
impartial  remuneration  election,  and  the  general  re- 
demption, which  the  gospel  displays,  is  to  allow  them, 
with  a  good  grace,  the  partial  gratuitous  election,  and 
the  particular,  which  the  Scriptures  strongly  maintain 
also.  See  the  Scales,  sec.  xi,  xii,  xiii.  For  my  part,  I 
glory  in  going  as  near  the  Calvinists  as  I  safely  can. 
Zelotes  is  my  brother  as  well  asHonestus ;  and,  so  long  as 
I  do  not  lose  firm  footing  upon  Scripture  ground,  I  gladly 
stretch  my  right  hand  to  him,  and  my  left  band  to  his 
antagonist ;  endeavouring  to  help  them  both  out  of  the 
opposite  ditches,  which  bound  the  narrow  way  where 
truth  takes  a  sohtary  walk. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.        '  83 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  FICTITIOUS  AND  THE  GENUINE  CREED. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED, 

BEING  A  CREED  FOR  ARMINIAN8. 

Composed  by  Richard  Hill,  Esq.,  and  published  at 
the  end  of  his  "  Three  Letters  written  to  the  Rev. 
J.  Fletcher,  vicar  of  Madeley." 

ARTICLE  I. 

"  I  BELIEVE  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  the  whole 
human  race,  and  that  he  had  no  more  love  toward 
those  who  now  are,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  in  glory,  than 
for  those  who  now  are,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  lifting  up 
their  eyes  in  torments ;  and  that  the  one  are  no  more 
indebted  to  his  grace  than  the  other." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED, 

Being  an  anti-Calvinian  confession  of  faith,  for  those 
who  beUeve  that  "Christ  tasted  death  for  every 
man ;"  and  that  some  men,  by  "  denying  the  Lord 
that  bought  them,  bring  upon  themselves  swift  de- 
stiuction." 

ARTICLE   I. 

We  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  the  whole 
human  race,  with  an  intention,  first,  to  procure  abso- 
lutely and  unconditionally  a  temporary  redemption,  or 
an  initial  salvation   for  all    men   universally:   and, 


84  '       BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

secondly,  to  procure  a  particular  redemption,  or  an 
eternal  salvation  conditionally  for  all  men,  but  abso- 
lutely for  all  that  die  in  their  infancy,  and  for  all  the 
adult  who  obey  him,  and  are  "  faithful  unto  death." 

We  believe  that,  in  consequence  of  the  general  and 
temporary  redemption  procured  by  Christ  for  all  man- 
kind, every  man  is  unconditionally  blessed  with  a  day 
of  grace,  which  the  Scripture  calls  "  the  accepted  time," 
and  "  the  day  of  salvation."  During  this  day,  (under 
various  dispensations  of  grace,  and  by  virtue  of  various 
covenants  made  through  Christ,  David,  Moses,  Abra- 
ham, Noah,  or  Adam,)  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  affords 
all  men  proper  means,  abihties,  and  opportunities  to 
"  work  out  their  own  salvation,"  or  to  make  "  their 
calling  and  conditional  election"  to  the  eternal  bless- 
ings of  their  respective  dispensations  "  sure ;"  and  as 
many  do  it,  by  keeping  "  the  free  gift  which  is  come" 
unto  all  men,  or  by  recovering  it  through  faithful  obe- 
dience to  reconverting  grace:  or,  in  other  terms,  as 
many  as  know,  and  perseveringly  improve  "  the  day 
of  their  visitation,"  are,  in  consequence  of  Christ's  par- 
ticular redemption,  entitled  to  an  eternal  redemption  or 
salvation:  that  is,  they  are  eternally  redeemed  from 
hell,  and  eternally  saved  into  different  degrees  of 
heavenly  glory,  according  to  the  different  degrees  of 
their  faithfulness,  and  the  various  dispensations  which 
they  are  under.  While  they  that  bury  their  talent,  and 
"  know  not  [i.  e.,  squander  away]  the  day  of  their  visita- 
tion," forfeit  their  initial  salvation,  and  secure  to  them- 
selves God's  judicial  reprobation,  together  with  all  its 
terrible  consequences. 

We  believe,  moreover,  that  although  Christ  "  tasted 
death  for  every  man,"  yet,  according  to  his  covenants 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER.  85 

of  peculiarity  or  distinguishing  grace,  he  formerly 
showed  more  love  to  the  Jews  than  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  now  shows  more  favour  to  the  Christians  than  to 
the  Jews,  and  to  some  Christians  than  to  others ;  be- 
stowing more  spiritual  blessings  upon  the  Protestants 
than  upon  the  Papists;  more  temporal  mercies  upon 
the  English  than  upon  the  Greenlanders,  (fcc.  We 
farther  believe  that  this  special  favour  is  not  only  na- 
tional, but  also,  in  some  cases,  personal :  thus  it  seems 
that  God  showed  more  of  it  to  Jacob  than  to  Esau ;  to 
Esau  than  to  Shechem ;  to  David  and  Solomon  than 
to  Jonathan  and  Mephibosheth ;  to  St.  Paul  than  to 
Apollos  ;  and  to  Peter,  James,  and  John,  than  to  Judas, 
Bartholomew,  and  Matthias.  We  Ukewise  believe  that 
God  {according  to  his  prescience)  has  a  regard  for 
the  souls  who  (he  foresees)  will  finally  yield  to  his 
grace,  and  this  regard  he  has  not  for  the  souls  who 
(he  foresees)  will  finally  harden  themselves  against 
his  goodness:  thus,  with  respect  to  divine  foreknow- 
ledge, we  grant  that  Christ  had  a  respect  for  fallen 
Peter  which  he  had  not  for  fallen  Judas :  for,  when 
they  were  both  lying  in  the  guilt  of  their  crimes,  he 
could  not  but  prefer  him  who  had  not  yet  sinned  out 
his  day  of  grace  to  him  who  had  :  him  who  had  done 
the  Spirit  of  grace  a  partial,  temporary  despite,  to  him 
who  had  done  that  Spirit  a  total  and  final  despite. 
And,  in  a  word,  him  who  would  repent  to  him  who 
absolutely  would  not.  However,  this  peculiar  regard 
for  some  men,  this  lengthening  or  shortening  a  sinner's 
day  of  grace  arbitrarily,  and  this  bestowing  more  talents, 
i.  e.,  more  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings  upon  one 
man  than  upon  another,  according  to  the  sovereign 
prerogative  which  God  claims  in  his  covenants  of  pecu- 


86  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

liarity ;  this  peculiar  regard  for  some  men,  I  say,  never 
amounts  to  a  grain  of  partiality  in  judgment:  much 
less  to  a  rape  committed  by  overbearing  grace,  or  in- 
frustable  wrath,  upon  the  moral  agency  of  two  men, 
(suppose  Peter  and  Judas,)  to  bring  about,  in  an  un- 
avoidable manner,  the  final  perseverance  of  the  one, 
and  the  final  apostacy  of  the  other.  For  had  the 
covetous  traitor  humbly  repented  when  he  could  have 
done  it,  he  yet  would  have  gone  to  heaven ;  and  had 
the  lying,  perjured  apostle  put  off  his  repentance  as 
obstinately  as  Judas  did,  he  would  have  gone  to  the 
place  of  iiiipenitent  apostates :  for  God  having  "  put 
life  and  death  before"  the  sons  of  men ;  and  having 
appointed  eternal  rewards  for  those  who  "  finally  choose 
life"  in  the  rectitude  of  their  conduct,  and  eternal  pu- 
nishment for  those  who  "  finally  choose  death  in  the 
error  of  their  ways,"  he  can  no  more  finally  turn  the 
scale  of  their  will  than  he  can  deny  himself,  and  turn 
the  solemnity  of  the  great  day  into  the  pageantry  of  a 
Pharisaic  masquerade. 

The  end  of  the  first  article  of  Mr.  Hill's  Fictitious 
Creed  is  not  less  contrary  to  all  our  principles  than  the 
middle  part.  For,  according  to  all  our  doctrines  of 
grace,  persons  who  are  in  glory  like  Peter  are  infinitely 
more  indebted  to  Christ's  grace  than  pei^sons  who  lift 
up  their  eyes  in  torments  like  Judas.  This  will  appear, 
if  we  consider  the  case  of  those  two  apostles.  Although 
they  were  both  equally  indebted  to  Christ  for  his  re- 
deeming love,  which  put  them  in  a  state  of  initial  sal- 
vation ;  and  for  his  distinguishing  favour,  which  raised 
them  to  apostolic  honours ;  yet  upon  our  scheme  Peter 
is  infinitely  more  beholden  to  free  grace  than  Judas ; 
and  I  prove  it  thus :  Christ,  according  to  his  remune- 


BEAUTIES   OF    FLETCHER.  87 

rative  election,  which  draws  after  it  a  particular  redemp- 
tion and  eternal  salvation  ; — Christ,  I  say,  according  to 
that  remunerative  election,  has  chosen  Peter  to  the 
reward  of  a  heavenly  throne  and  a  crown  of  glory. 
Now  this  election,  in  which  Judas  has  no  interest, 
springs  from  God's  free  grace,  as  well  as  from  volun- 
tary perseverance  in  the  free  obedience  of  faith.  It 
was  of  free  grace  that  God  designed  to  give  to  all  peni- 
tent, persevering  believers,  and  of  consequence  to  Peter, 
a  crown  of  glory  in  his  heavenly  kingdom :  for  he 
might  have  given  them  only  the  conveniences  of  life 
in  a  cottage  on  earth :  he  might  have  dropped  them 
into  their  original  nothingness,  after  having  blessed 
them  with  one  single  smile  of  his  approbation :  nay, 
he  might  have  demanded  their  utmost  obedience,  with- 
out promising  them  the  least  reward.  Therefore  Peter 
and  all  the  saints  in  glory  are  indebted  to  Christ,  not 
only  for  their  rewards  of  additional  grace  on  earth,  but 
also  for  all  their  eternal  salvation,  and  for  all  the 
heavenly  blessings  which  flow  from  their  particular 
redemption.  Infinitely  gracious  rewards  these,  which 
God  does  not  bestow  upon  Judas,  nor  upon  any  of  those 
who  die  impenitent !  Infinitely  glorious  rewards ! 
which  nothing  but  God's  free  grace  in  Christ  could 
move  his  distributive  justice  to  bestow  upon  persevering 
believers.  Hence  it  is  evident  that  Mr.  Hill  has  tried 
to  make  our  fundamental  doctrine  of  general  redemp- 
tion appear  ridiculous,  by  absurdly  clogging  it  with  an 
odious  consequence,  which  has  no  more  to  do  with  that 
comfortable  doctrine  than  we  have  to  do  with  Mr.  Hill's 
uncomfortable  tenet  of  absolute  reprobation. 


88  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE  II. 

"  I  believe  that  divine  grace  is  indiscriminately  given 
to  all  men ;  and  that  God,  foreseeing  that  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  the  world  will  reject  liis  grace,  doth 
nevertheless  bestow  it  upon  them,  in  order  to  heighten 
their  torments,  and  to  increase  their  damnation  in  hell." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE  II. 

We  do  not  believe  that  divine  grace  is  i?idiscrimi- 
nately  given  to  all  men.  For  although  we  assert  that 
God  gives  to  all  at  least  one  talent  of  true  grace  to 
profit  with  ;  yet  we  acknowledge  that  he  makes  as  real 
a  difference  between  man  and  man,  as  between  an 
angel  and  an  archangel,  giving  to  some  men  one 
talent,  to  others  two  talents,  and  to  others ^t7e,  according 
to  the  election  of  distinguishing  grace,  maintained  in 
the  Scripture  Scales,  sec.  xii.  But  the  least  talent  of 
grace  is  saving,  if  free  will  do  not  bury  it  to  the  last. 

And  we  believe  that  although  God  foresaw  that  in 
some  unhappy  period  of  the  world's  duration  the  greater 
part  of  adults  would  reject  his  grace,  he  nevertheless 
bestows  it  in  different  measures  upon  all;  but  not  (as 
Mr.  Hill  says)  "  in  order  to  heighten  the  torments,  and 
increase  the  damnation  of  any  in  hell."  This  is  a 
horrid  conceit,  which  we  return  to  those  who  insinuate 
that  God  gives  common  grace  (that  is,  we  apprehend, 
unsaving,  graceless  grace)  to  absolute  reprobates, 
i.  e.,  to  men  for  whom  (upon  Mr.  Hill's  scheme  of  ab- 
solute reprobation)  there  never  was  in  God  the  least 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  89 

degree  of  mercy  and  saving  goodness.  This  shocking 
consequence,  fixed  upon  us  by  Mr.  Hill,  is  the  genuine 
offspring  of  Calvinistic  non-election,  which  supposes 
that  God  sends  the  gospel  to  myriads  of  men  from 
whom  he  absolutely  keeps  the  power  of  believing  it ; 
tantalizing  them  with  offers  of  free  grace  here,  that  he 
may,  without  possihility  of  escape,  sink  them  here- 
after to  the  deepest  hell, — the  hell  of  the  Capernaites. 

According  to  the  gospel,  the  reprobation  that  draws 
eternal  damnation  after  it  springs  from  our  own  per- 
.  sonal  free  will  doing  a  final  despite  to  free  grace,  and 
not  from  God's  eternal  free  wrath.  And  if  Mr.  Hill 
ask  "  why  God  gives  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of 
grace  to  men  who  (he  foresees)  will  do  it  a  final  despite, 
as  well  as  to  those  who  through  that  grace  will  work 
out  their  own  salvation ;"  we  reply : — 

1.  For  the  same  reason  which  made  him  give  celes- 
tial grace  to  the  angels  who  became  devils  by  squander- 
ing it  away ;  paradisiacal  grace  to  our  first  parents ; 
expostulating.  Gentile  grace  to  Cain;  Jewish,  royal 
grace  to  Saul ;  and  Christian,  apostolic  grace  to  Judas. 
If  Mr.  Hill  says  he  does  not  understand  what  that 
reason  is ;  we  answer :  By  the  same  reason  which  in- 
duced the  master  who  corrected  Mr.  Hill  for  making  a 
bad  exercise  at  Westminster  school  to  give  his  pupil 
pen,  paper,  ink,  and  proper  instruction,  before  he  could 
reasonably  call  Mr.  Hill  to  an  account  for  his  exercise. 
And  by  the  same  reason  which  would  make  all  Shrop- 
shire cry  out  against  Mr.  Hill  as  against  a  tyrannical 
master,  suppose  he  horsewhipped  his  coachman  and 
postilion  for  not  driving  him,  if  he  had  taken  away 
from  them  boots,  whips,  spurs,  harness,  coach,  and 
horses;  and  if  he  had  contrived  himself  the  fall  of 


90  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

their  apartment,  that  all  their  bones  might  be  put  out 
of  joint  when  the  floor  gave  way  under  them. 

2.  If  Mr.  Hill  is  not  satisfied  with  these  illustrations, 
we  will  give  him  some  direct  answers.  God  gives  a 
manifestation  of  his  grace  to  those  who  make  their 
reprobation  sure  by  finally  resisting  his  gracious  Spirit ; 
First,  Because  he  will  show  himself  as  he  is,  "  gracious 
and  merciful,"  "  true  and  longsuffering  toward  all,"  so 
long  as  "  the  day  of  their  visitation"  lasts.  Thus  he 
bestows  a  talent  upon  all  his  slothful  servants  who  bury 
it  to  the  last,  because  he  will  display  his  equity  and 
goodness,  although  they  will  display  their  wickedness 
and  sloth.  Secondly,  Because  he  is  determined  that  if 
those  servants  will  destroy  themselves,  their  blood  shall 
be  upon  their  own  heads,  according  to  the  well-known 
scripture :  "  O  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself  I 
would,  and  ye  would  not."  Thirdly,  Because  God  will 
"judge  the  world  in  righteousness,"  and  display  his 
distributive  justice  in  rendering  to  all  according  to  "  their 
works ;"  deservedly  clothing  his  finally  unfaithful  ser- 
vants with  shame,  and  making  the  faithful  walk  with 
him  in  white,  "  because  they  are  [evangelically]  worthy." 
And,  to  sum  up  all  in  one, — because  the  two  gospel 
axioms  are  firm  as  the  pillars  of  heaven  and  hell ;  and 
God  will  display  their  truth  before  men  and  angels,  and 
especially  before  Pharisees  and  Antinomians.  Now, 
according  to  the  first  axiom,  there  is  a  Saviour,  a 
measure  of  saving  grace,  and  a  day  of  initial  salvation 
for  all.  And,  according  to  the  second  axiom,  there  is 
free  will  in  all,  and  a  day  of  judgment,  with  a  final 
salvation  or  damnation  for  all,  according  to  their  good 
or  bad  works,  that  is,  according  to  their  free  agency  ; 
the  good  works  of  the  righteous  being  the  product  of 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  91 

their  free,  avoidable  co-operation  with  God's  grace ;  and 
the  bad  works  of  the  wicked  springing  from  their  free, 
avoidable  rebellion  against  that  grace. 

Hence  it  appears  that  the  second  article  of  the  Ficti- 
tious Creed  contains,  indeed,  a  "  shocking,  not  to  say 
blasphemous"  consequence,  but  that  this  consequence  is 
nothing  but  a  sprig  of  Mr.  Hill's  supposed  "  orthodoxy," 
absurdly  grafted  upon  the  supposed  "heresy"  which 
St.  John  and  St.  Paul  maintain  in  these  words :  "  He 
[Christ]  was  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man 
that  Cometh  into  the  world.  The  grace  of  God  which 
bringeth  salvation  has  appeared  unto  all  men,  teaching 
[not  forcing]  us  to  deny  ungodliness,  <fcc.,  and  to  live 
soberly,"  &c.,  if  we  are  obedient  to  its  teachings. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE   III. 

"  I  believe  it  depends  wholly  on  the  will  of  the 
creature  whether  he  shall  or  shall  not  receive  any 
benefit  from  divine  grace." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE    III. 

We  believe  that  the  benefits  of  a  temporary  redemp- 
tion, of  a  day  of  salvation,  and  of  the  "  free  gift"  which 
"came  upn  all  men"  to  the  justification  mentioned 
Rom.  V,  18 :  we  believe,  I  say,  these  benefits,  far  from 
"  depending  wholly  on  the  will  of  the  creature,"  as  to 
the  RECEIVING  of  them,  depend  no  more  upon  us  than 
our  sight  and  the  light  of  the  sun.  All  those  blessings 
are  at  first  as  gratuitously  and  irresistibly  bestowed  upon 
us,  for  Christ's  sake,  in  our  present  manner  of  existence, 


92  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

as  the  divine  image  and  favour  were  at  first  bestowed 
upon  our  first  parents  in  paradise,  vvrith  this  only  differ- 
ence ;  before  the  fall  their  paradisiacal  grace  came  im- 
mediately from  God  our  Creator;  whereas,  since  the 
fall,  our  penitential  grace  comes  immediately  and  irre- 
sistibly from  God  our  Redeemer  ;— I  say  irresistibly, 
because  God  does  not  leave  to  our  option  whether  we 
shall  receive  a  talent  of  redeeming  grace  or  not,  any 
more  than  he  left  it  to  Adam's  choice  whether  Adam 
should  receive  five  talents  of  creative  grace  or  not; 
although  afterward  he  gives  us  leave  to  bury  or  im- 
prove our  talent  of  redeeming  grace,  as  he  gave  leave 
to  Adam  to  bury  or  improve  his  five  talents  of  creative 
grace.  Our  doctrine  of  the  general  redemption  and 
free  agency  of  mankind  stands,  therefore,  upon  the 
same  Scriptural  and  rational  ground  which  bears  up 
Mr.  Hill's  system  of  man's  creation  and  moral  agency 
in  paradise ;  it  being  impossible  to  make  any  objection 
against  the  personal  loss  of  redeeming  grace  in  Judas, 
that  may  not  be  retorted  against  the  personal  loss  of 
creative  grace  in  Adam  or  Satan. 

But,  with  respect  to  all  the  temporal  and  eternal 
benefits  which  God  has  promised  by  way  of  reward  to 
his  every  "  good  and  faithful  servant,"  we  beUeve  that 
they  depend  upon  the  concurrence  of  two  causes ;  the 
first  of  which  is  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  the  second,  the  faithfulness  of  our  assisted  and 
rectified  free  will,  which  faithfulness  is  graciously 
crowned  by  God's  remunerative  justice  and  evangelical 
veracity.  And,  instead  of  blushing  at  this  doctrine,  as 
if  it  were  "  shocking,"  we  glory  in  it,  as  being  perfectly 
rational,  strictly  Scriptural,  and  equally  distant  from  the 
two  rocks  against  which  Calvinian  orthodoxy  is  dashed 


BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 


93 


in  pieces :  I  mean,  the  twin  doctrines  of  wanton  free 
grace  and  eternal  free  wrath,  according  to  which  God, 
without  any  respect  to  the  faith  or  unbeUef,  to  the  good 
or  bad  works  of  free  agents,  absolutely  ordained  for 
some  of  them  the  robe  of  Christ's  imputed  righteous- 
ness, and  the  unavoidable  reward  of  eternal  life  by  the 
mean  of  unavoidable  faith ;  while  he  absolutely  ap- 
pointed for  all  the  rest  the  robe  of  Adam's  imputed 
unrighteousness,  and  the  unavoidable  punishment  of 
eternal  death  by  means  of  necessary,  unavoidable  un- 
belief.   

THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE   IV. 

"  Though  the  Scripture  tells  me  that  the  carnal 
mind  is  enmity  against  God,  yet  I  believe  that  there  is 
something  in  the  heart  of  every  natural  man  that  can 
nourish  and  cherish  the  grace  of  God :  and  that  the 
sole  reason  why  this  grace  is  effectual  in  some  and  not 
in  others  is  entirely  owing  to  themselves,  and  to  their 
own  faithfulness  or  unfaithfulness,  and  not  to  the  dis- 
tinguishing love  and  favour  of  God." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE   IV. 

Though  the  Scriptures  tell  us  "  that  the  carnal  mind 
is  enmity  against  God,"  and  that  "the  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  Spirit,"  yet  we  believe  that,  from  the  time 
God  initially  raised  mankind  from  their  fall,  and  pro- 
mised them  the  celestial  bruiser  of  the  serpent's  head, 
there  is  a  gracious  free  agency  in  the  heart  of  every 
man  who  has  not  yet  sinned  away  his  day  of  salva- 


94  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

tion :  and  that,  by  means  of  this  gracious  free  agency, 
all  men,  during  the  "  accepted  time,"  can  concur  with, 
and  work  under  the  grace  of  God,  according  to  the 
dispensation  they  belong  to.  Again :  we  believe  that 
no  child  of  Adam  is  a  "  natural  man"  in  the  Calvinian 
sense  of  the  word,  [i.  e.,  absolutely  destitute  of  all  saving 
giace,]  except  he  who  has  actually  sinned  away  his  day 
of  grace.  And  when  we  consider  a  man  as  absolutely 
graceless,  or  as  "  a  child  of  wrath"  in  the  highest  sense 
of  the  word,  we  consider  him  in  fallen  Adam,  before 
God  began  to  raise  mankind  by  the  promise  of  the 
woman's  seed :  or  we  must  consider  that  man  in  his 
own  person  after  he  has  done  final  despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  that  grace  which  has  more  or  less  clearly  appeared 
to  all  men  under  various  dispensations. 

Mr.  Hill  greatly  mistakes  if  he  thinks  that,  according 
to  our  doctrine,  God's  grace  is  "  effectual  in  some,  and 
not  in  others ;"  for  we  believe  that  it  is  effectual  in  all, 
though  in  a  different  manner.  It  has  its  first  and 
most  desirable  effect  on  them  that  "  cherish  it"  through 
the  above-mentioned  gracious  free  agency.  And  it  has 
its  second  and  less  desirable  effect  on  those  who  finally 
reject  the  gracious  counsel  of  God  toward  them :  for  it 
reproves  their  sins ;  it  galls  their  consciences  ;  it  renders 
them  inexcusable ;  it  vindicates  God's  mercy ;  it  clears 
his  justice;  it  shows  that  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
does  no  wrong ;  and  it  begins  in  this  world  the  just 
punishment  which  righteous  vengeance  will  complete 
in  the  next. 

The  grace  of  God,  therefore,  like  the  gospel  that 
testifies  of  it,  is  a  two-edged  sword :  it  is  a  savour  of 
life  to  those  who  cherish  it,  and  a  savour  of  death  to 
those  who  resist  it.     That  some  cherish  it,  by  its  assist- 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER,  §5 

ance  work  righteousness  to  the  last,  and  then  receive 
the  reward  of  the  inheritance,  is  not  "  entirely  owing 
to  themselves  and  to  their  own  faithfulness,"  as  the 
Fictitious  Creed  asserts :  nor  is  it  "  entirely  owing  to 
the  love  and  favour  of  God."  This  happy  event  has 
two  causes :  the  first  is  free  grace,  by  the  assistance 
of  which  the  faith  and  good  works  of  the  righteous  are 
begun,  continued,  and  ended :  the  second  is  free  will 
humbly  working  with  free  grace,  as  appears  by  the 
numerous  scriptures  balanced  in  the  Scripture  Scales. 
'  And  that  some,  on  the  other  hand,  resist  the  grace  of 
God,  and  are  personally  given  up  to  a  reprobate  mind 
that  they  might  be  damned,  is  not  at  all  owing  to  God's 
free  wrath,  as  the  scheme  of  Mr.  Hill  supposes :  nor  is 
it  entirely  owing  to  the  unfaithfulness  and  obstinacy  of 
impenitent  sinners.  This  unhappy  event  has  also  two 
causes :  the  first  is  man's  free  will  finally  refusing  to 
concur  with  free  grace,  in  working  out  his  own  salva- 
tion ;  and  the  second  is  just  wrath,  revenging  the 
despite  done  to  God's  free  grace  by  such  a  final 
refusal. 

With  respect  to  "the  distinguishing  love  and  favour" 
of  God  our  Judge,  and  his  distinguished  hatred  and  ill 
will,  (on  which  our  eternal  rewards  and  punishments 
unavoidably  turn,  according  to  Mr.  Hill's  twin  doctrines 
of  finished  salvation  and  finished  damnation,)  we  dare 
not  admit  them  into  our  holy  religion.  We  give  to 
"distinguishing  favour"  an  important  place  in  our  creed, 
as  appears  from  the  first  article  of  this ;  but  that  favour 
has  nothing  to  do  with  God's  judicial  distribution  of 
rewards  or  punishments,  i.  e.,  with  God's  appointing  of 
us  to  eternal  life  or  to  eternal  death.  We  believe  that 
it  is  a  most  daring  attempt  of  the  Antinomians  to  place 


96  BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 

distinguishing  favour    and   distinguishing  displeasure 
upon  the  judicial  throne  of  God,  and  in  the  judgment 
seat  of  Christ ;  no  decrees  proceeding  from  thence  but 
such  as  are  dictated  by  impartial  justice  putting  Christ's 
evangehcal  law  in  execution,  and  strictly  judging  (i,  e., 
justifying  or  condemning,   rewarding   or   punishing) 
moral  agents,  according  to  their  works.     We  should 
think  ourselves  guilty  of  propagating  "  a  shocking,  not 
to  say  blasphemous"  doctrine,  if  we  insinuated,  that 
"  distinguishing  favour,"  and  not  unbribed  justice,  dic- 
tates  God's  sentence;    God   himself  having  enacted, 
"Cursed  be  he  that  perverteth  judgment,  <fcc.,  and  all 
the  people  shall  say.  Amen,"  Deut.  xxvii,  19.     Nor 
need  I  tell  Mr.  Hill  this,  who  has  hinted  that  God  is 
such  a  partial  Judge; — yea,  that  he  carries  partiality  to 
such  a  height  as  to  say  to  a  man  who  actually  defiles 
a  married  woman,  and  treacherously  plots  the  murder 
of  her  injured  husband,  "Thou  art  all  fair,  my  love,  my 
undefiled,  there  is  no  spot  in  thee :  thou  art  a  man  after 
my  own  heart."     If  Mr.  Hill  has  forgotten  this  anec- 
dote, I  refer  him  to  the  Five  Letters,  the  sale  of  which 
he  does  not  scruple  to  advertise  again  in  his  Three 
Letters,  saying:  "I  now  think  it  the  way  of  duty  to 
permit— the  Five  Letters  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  &c.,  to  be 
again  sold,  in  order  that  both  friends  and  enemies  may, 
if  possible,  be  convinced   that  /  never  retracted  my 
sentiments^      Strange  confidence  of  boasting !      O 
m,ores  !     What  have  morality  and  godliness  done  to 
Mr.  Hill,  that  he  will  put  them  to  a  perpetual  blush, 
lest  his  Venus  (for  she  no  longer  deserves  the  name  of 
Diana)  should  redden  one  moment  ? 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  97 

THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE    V. 

"  I  believe  that  God  sincerely  wishes  for  the  salvation 
of  many  who  never  will  be  saved ;  consequently,  that 
it  is  entirely  owing  to  want  of  ability  in  God,  that  what 
he  so  earnestly  willeth  is  not  accomplished." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE    V. 

We  believe  that  God's  attributes  perfectly  harmonize. 
'Accordingly  his  goodness  and  mercy  incline  him  to 
"wish  for  the  salvation  of"  all  men,  upon  gracious 
terms,  laid  down  by  his  wisdom  and  veracity.  As  a 
proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  wish,  he  swears  by  him- 
self, that  his  antecedent  will  or  decree  is  not  "  that  sin- 
ners should  die ;  but  that,"  by  the  help  of  his  free  grace 
and  the  submission  of  their  free  will,  "  they  should  turn 
and  live."  He  does  more  still :  he  grants  to  all  men  a 
day  of  initial  salvation,  and  "all  that  day  long  he 
stretches  forth  his  hands"  to  them.  He  reproves  them 
for  their  sins :  he  calls  upon  them  in  various  w^ays  to 
repent;  and  gives  them  power  to  do  it  according  to  one 
or  another  dispensation  of  his  grace  ;  requiring  little  of 
those  to  whom  he  gives  Uttle,  and  much  of  those  to 
whom  much  is  given.  But  it  is  his  subsequent  decree, 
dictated  chiefly  by  his  holiness.,  justice,  and  sove- 
reignty, that,  if  free  agents  will  none  of  his  reproofs, 
and  finally  disregard  the  offers  of  his  grace,  "  his  Spirit 
shall  not  always  strive  with  them."  A  day  of  calamity 
shall  follow  the  day  of  their  neglected  salvation ;  and 
justice  shall  be  glorified  in  their  righteous  destruction. 
This  is  the  sad  alternative  which  God  has  set  before 

5 


98  BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

them,  if,  in  opposition  to  his  antecedent  will,  they 
(through  their  free  agency)  finally  choose  death,  in 
finally  choosing  the  way  that  leads  to  it. 

This  part  of  our  doctrine  may  be  summed  up  in 
three  propositions.  (1.)  God's  mercy  absolutely  wills 
the  initial  salvation  of  all  men  by  Jesus  Christ.  (2.) 
God's  goodness,  holiness,  and  faithfulness,  absolutely 
will  the  eternal  salvation  of  all  those  who,  by  the  con- 
currence of  their  assisted,  unnecessitated  free  will,  with 
his  redeeming  grace,  are  found  penitent,  obedient  be- 
lievers, at  the  end  of  their  day  of  initial  salvation.  And, 
(3.)  God's  justice,  sovereignty,  and  veracity,  absolutely 
will  the  destruction  of  all  that  are  found  impenitent  at 
the  close  of  the  day  of  their  gracious  visitation,  or  initial 
salvation.  To  see  the  truth  of  these  three  propositions, 
we  need  only  consider  them  in  the  light  of  these  two 
gospel  axioms,  and  compare  them  with  these  declara- 
tions of  Moses  and  Jesus  Christ :  "  I  set  hfe  and  death 
before  you ;  [free  agents,  who  enjoy  a  day  of  initial  sal- 
vation ;]  choose  life,"  (I  offer  it  you  Jirst :  "  choose 
life,"  I  say,)  "  that  you  may  live  eternally.  But  if  you 
choose  death  in  the  error  of  your  ways,"  your  rejected 
Saviour  will  complain,  "How  often  would  I  have  gath- 
ered you  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  brood  under  her  wings, 
but  ye  would  not :  and  now  the  things  that  made  for 
your  peace  are  hid  from  your  eyes :"  that  is,  you  are 
given  up  to  judicial  bhndness,  and  to  all  its  fearful  con- 
sequences. 

Hence  it  is  evident,  that  the  damnation  of  those  who 
obstinately  live  and  die  in  their  sins,  and  whom  God 
was  willing  to  save  as  free  agents  upon  gospel  terms, 
argues  no  "  want  of  ability  in  him"  to  save  them  eter- 
nally, if  he  would  give  up  the  day  of  judgment,  and 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER.  99 

exert  his  omnipotence  in  opposition  to  his  wisdom,  jus- 
tice, holiness,  and  veracity  ;  or  if  he  would  destroy  the 
most  wonderful  of  all  his  works,  which  is  the  free  will 
of  moral  agents.     We  never  doubted  his  ability  to  un- 
man man,  and  eternally  to  save  all  mankind,  if  he 
would  absolutely  do  it ;  it  being  evident  that  the  Al- 
mighty can  overpower  all  his  creatures  if  he  should  be 
bent  upon  it,  and  drive  them  from  sin  to  necessitated 
holiness,  and  from  hell  to  heaven,  far  more  easily  than 
a  shepherd  can  drive  his  frighted  sheep  from  the  market 
to  the  slaughter   house.     Therefore,  the  supposition 
that,  upon  our  principles,  "  God  wants  ability  to  save" 
whom  he  absolutely  will  save,  is  entirely  groundless  ; 
every  man  being  actually  saved  so  far  as  God*  abso- 
lutely wills:  for,  first,  God  absolutely  wiUs  that  all 
men  should  be  unconditionally  saved  with  initial  sal- 
vation ;  and  thus  all  men  are  unconditionally  saved : 
and,  secondly,  he  absolutely  wills  that  all  men,  who 
are  obedient  and  faithful  unto  death,  should  absolutely 
be  saved  with  an  eternal  salvation :  and  thus  all  men 

*  The  reader  is  desired  to  take  particular  notice  of  this  observa- 
tion,  because  it  cuts  up  by  the  root  Bradwarden's  famous  argument. 
"If  you  allow,  (says  he,)  (1.)  That  God  is  able  to  do  a  thing,  and, 
(2.)  That  he  is  [absolutely]  willing  to  do  a  thing:  then,  (3.)  I  af. 
firm,  that  the  thing  will  not,  cannot  go  unaccomplished :  otherwise 
God  must  either  lose  his  power,  or  change  his  mind.  If  the  [abso- 
lute] will  of  God  could  be  frustrated  and  vanquished,  its  defeat  would 
arise  from  the  created  wills  either  of  angels  or  of  men.  But  could 
any  created  will  whatever,  &c.,  counteract  and  baffle  the  will  of 
God,  the  will  of  the  creature  must  be  superior  either  in  strength  or 
in  wisdom  to  the  will  of  the  Creator ;  which  can  by  no  means  be 
allowed."  We  fully  grant  to  Mr.  Toplady  that  the  argument  is 
•'  extremely  conclusive,"  provided  the  two  words  "  absolutely"  and 
»  absolute"  be  taken  into  it ;  and  therefore,  we  maintain,  as  well  as 
he,  that  man  is  actually  saved,  so  far  ae  God  absolutely  wills. 


100  BEAUTIES  Ot   FLBITCHER. 

who  are  obedient  and  faithful  unto  death  are  actually 
saved.  They  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
pluck  them  out  of  Christ's  protecting  hand.  But  what 
has  this  Scripture  doctrine  to  do  with  Calvinism? 
With  the  necessary,  eternal,  finished  salvation  of  all 
the  disobedient  sheep,  who  turn  goats,  foxes,  Uons,  and 
serpents?  Who,  far  from  remembering  Lot's  wife, 
slily  rob  their  neighbours  of  their  ewe  lambs, — their 
heart's  blood, — their  reputation  ? 

To  conclude :  the  most  that  Mr.  Hill  can  justly  say 
against  our  principles,  is :  (1.)  That,  according  to  the 
gospel  which  we  preach,  Tiian  is  a  free  agent,  and  God 
is  wise,  holy,  true,  and  just ;  as  well  as  good,  loving, 
patient,  and  merciful :  and,  (2.)  That  one  half  of 
these  attributes  do  not  permit  him  to  necessitate  free 
agents ;  that  is,  to  make  them  absolutely  do  or  for- 
bear those  actions  by  which  they  are  to  stand  or  fall 
in  judgment.  And  let  men  of  reason  and  religion 
say,  if  this  doctrine  be  not  more  rational  and  Scrip- 
tural than  the  Calvinian  doctrine  of  finished  salva- 
tion, and  of  its  inseparable  counterpart,  finished  dam,- 
nation. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

"  I  believe  that  the  Redeemer  not  only  shed  his  pre- 
cious blood,  but  prayed  for  the  salvation  of  many  souls 
who  are  now  in  hell ;  consequently,  that  his  blood  w£is 
shed  in  vain,  and  his  prayer  rejected  of  his  Father,  and 
that  therefore  he  told  a  great  untruth  when  he  said,  I 
know  that  thou  hearest  me  always." 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  101 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

We  believe  that  the  Redeemer  did  not  shed  his  pr^ 
cious  blood  or  pray  absolutely  in  vain  for  any  man: 
seeing  he  obtained  for  all  men,  in  their  season,  a  day 
of  grace  and  initial  salvation,  with  a  thousand  spirit- 
ual and  temporal  blessings.  Nor  were  his  prayers  for 
the  eternal  salvation  of  those  who  die  impenitent  re- 
jected by  his  Father ;  for  Christ  never  prayed  that  they 
.should  be  eternally  saved  in  impenitency.  Before  Mr, 
HiU  can  reasonably  charge  us  with  holding  doctrines 
which  imply  that  Christ  told  a  gross  untruth  when  he 
said,  "  I  know  that  thou  hearest  me  always,"  he  must 
prove  that  Christ  ever  asked  the  eternal  salvation  of 
some  men,  whether  they  repented  or  not ;  or  that  he 
ever  desired  his  Father  to  force  to  the  last  repentance, 
faith,  and  obedience,  upon  any  man.  If  Mr.  Hill  can^ 
not  prove  this,  how  can  he  make  it  appear  that,  accord- 
ing to  our  doctrines  of  grace,  one  of  our  Lord's  prayers 
was  ever  rejected?  We  grant  that  Christ  asked  thq 
forgiveness  of  his  murderers,  and  of  those  who  made 
sport  with  his  sufferings ;  but  he  asked  it  upon  gospel 
terms,  that  is,  conditionally.  Nor  was  his  prayer  inef-r 
fectual;  for  it  obtained  for  them  time  to  repent,  and 
uncommon  helps  so  to  do,  with  a  peculiar  readiness  in 
God  to  pardon  them  upon  their  application  for  pardon ; 
and  if,  after  all,  through  the  power  of  their  fiee  agency, 
they  despised  the  pardon  offered  them  in  the  gospel, 
and  repented  not,  they  shall  deservedly  perish  accord^ 
ing  to  Christ's  own  declaration.  He  has  acted  toward 
them  the  part  of  a  gracious  Saviour :  he  never  engaged 
himself  to  act  that  of  a  tyrant :  I  mean,  he  never  sent 


102  BEAXTTIES    OF   FLETCHER, 

either  his  good  Spirit,  ot  the  evil  spirit  of  Satan,  to  bind 
the  wills  of  men  with  adamantine  chains  of  necessi- 
tated righteousness,  or  of  necessitated  iniquity,  that  he 
might  cast  some  into  Abraham's  bosom,  and  others  into 
hell,  as  Nebuchadnezzar  sent  the  strongest  men  in  his 
army  to  bind  Daniel's  companions,  and  to  cast  them 
into  the  burning  fiery  furnace. 

Once  more :  we  believe  that,  with  respect  to  the  re- 
ward of  the  inheritance,  and  the  doctrine  of  eternal  sal- 
vation, Christ's  atonement  and  intercession  are  like  his 
gospel.  Now  his  gospel  is  guarded  by  what  one  of 
Mr.  Hill's  seconds  queeriy  calls  "  the  vahant  Sergeant 
IF,"  that  is,  the  conditionjJity  of  the  promises  and 
threatenings  which  relate  to  eternal  salvation  and  eter- 
nal damnation :  and  this  conditionality  is  the  rampart 
of  the  old  gospel,  and  the  demolition  of  the  new ; 
strongly  guarding  the  ancient  doctrines  of  free  grace, 
free  will,  and  just  wrath,  against  the  novel  doctrines  of 
overbearing  grace,  bound  will,  and  free  wrath. 

I  should  not  do  justice  to  our  cause  if  I  dismissed 
this  article  without  retorting  Mr.  Hill's  objection.  I 
have  shown  how  unreasonably  we  are  accused  of  hold- 
ing doctrines,  which,  by  "unavoidable"  consequence, 
represent  Christ  as  "  telling  a  gross  untruth :"  and  now 
we  desire  Mr.  Hill,  or  his  seconds,  to  show  how  the  Son 
of  God  could,  consistently  with  truth,  profess  himself  to 
be  the  "  Saviour  of  men,"  the  Saviour  and  "light  of  the 
world,"  and  "  the  drawer  of  all  men  unto  himself:"  if 
most  men  have  been  from  all  eternity  under  the  fearful 
curse  of  Calvinian  reprobation.  We  ask,  if  the  Re- 
deemer would  have  "  told  a  gross  untruth,"  upon  the 
supposition  that  Calvinism  is  true,  had  he  called  him- 
self the  reprobater  of  men ;  the  non-redeemer^  the 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  103 

damner  of  the  world,  and  the  rejecter  of  all  men 
from  himself;  seeing  that,  according  to  the  doctrines 
of  grace,  (so  caUed,)  the  bulk  of  mankind  were  ever 
reprobated,  never  redeemed,  never  initially  saved,  and 
never  drawn  to  Christ.    We  beseech  candid  Protestants 
to  say  if  the  Bible  do  not  clear  up  all  the  difficulties  with 
which  prejudiced  divines  have  clogged  the  genuine  doc- 
trmes  of  grace,  when  it  testifies  that  our  Redeemer  and 
Saviour  has  procured  a  genera/  temporary  redemption, 
together  with  an  initial  salvation,  for  aU  men  univer- 
sally; and  a  particular  eternal  redemption,  together 
with  a  finished  salvation,  for  "them  that  obey  him.  and 
endure  to  the  end."     And  we  entreat  the  love^  of  the 
whole  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  to  help  us  to  bring  about 
this  Scriptural  plan,  a  reconcihation  between  those  who 
contend  for  the  doctrines  of  particular  redemption  and 
finished  salvation ;  and  those  who  maintain  the  doc- 
trines of  general  redemption  and  of  "a  day  of  salva- 
tion" for  all  mankind. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE   VII. 

"I  believe  that  God,  foreseeing  some  men's  nature 
will  improve  the  grace  which  is  given  them,  and  that 
they  will  repent,  believe,  and  be  very  good,  elects  them 
unto  salvation." 

THE  GEXUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE   Vn. 

We  believe  that  out  of  mere  mercy,  and  rich  free 
grace  in  Jesus  Christ,  without  any  respect  to  foreseen 
repentance,  faith,  or  goodness,  God  places  aU  men  in  a 
state  of  initial  salvation ;  electing  them  to  that  state  ac- 


104  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

eordmg  to  the  mysterious  counsel  of  his  distinguishing 
love,  which  places  some  under  the  bright  and  direct 
beams  of  gospel  truth  ;  while  he  suffers  others  to  re- 
ceive the  external  hght  of  it  only  through  that  variety 
of  clouds  which  we  call  Calvinism,  Popery,  Judaism, 
and  Mohammedanism;*  leaving  most  in  Gentilism, 
that  is,  in  the  dispensation  under  which  Cain,  Abel, 
Abimelech,  king  of  Gefar,  and  Melchisedec,  king  of 
Salem,  formerly  were. 

2.  We  believe  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  peculiarly 
(although  with  different  degrees  of  favour)  accepts  all 
those  who,  in  all  the  above-mentioned  rehgions,  i.  e.,  "in 
every  nation,  fear  him  and  work  righteousness."  These, 
when  considered  as  enduring  to  the  end,  are  his  elect, 
according  to  the  election  of  remunerative  justice.  For 
these  he  is  gone  to  "  prepare  the  many  mansions  in  his 
Father's  house :"  for  these  he  designs  the  "  reward  of 
the  inheritance  that  fadeth  not  away  in  heaven."  And 
when  he  speaks  of  some  men  as  belonging  to  this 
number,  it  is  always  with  respect  to  his  foreknowledge 
that  they  will  freely  persevere  in  the  obedience  of  faith ; 
it  being  the  highest  pitch  of  Antinomian  dotage  to  sup- 
pose that  God,  the  true,  the  wise,  the  holy,  and  right- 
eous  God,  elects  men   to  the  reward  of  persevering 

*  Calvinism  is  Christianity  obscured  by  mists  of  Pharisaic  elec- 
tion and  reprobation,  and  by  a  cloud  of  stoical  fatalism.  Popery  is 
Christianity  under  a  cloud  of  Pharisaic  bigotry,  and  under  thick  fogs 
of  heathenish  superstition.  Judaism  is  Christianity  under  the  veil 
of  Moses.  Mohammedanism  is  a  jumble  of  Christianity,  Judaism, 
Gentilism,  and  imposture.  And  Gentilism  is  the  rehgion  of  Cain 
and  Abel ;  or,  if  you  please,  of  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth,  under  a 
cloud  of  false  and  dark  tradition.  Some  call  it  the  religion  of  no. 
ture :  I  have  no  objection  to  the  name,  if  they  understand  by  it  the 
religion  of  our  nature  in  its  present  state  of  initial  recovery,  through 
Christ,  from  its  total  fall  in  Adam. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  105 

obedience,  without  taking  any  notice  of  persevering 
obedience  in  his  election. 

To  sum  up  all  in  a  few  lines :  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion has  tioo  branches :  according  to  the  first  branch 
we  are  chosen  that  we  should  he  holy  and  obedient,  in 
pioportion  to  the  ordinary  or  extraordinary  helps  which 
divine  grace  affords  us  under  one  or  other  of  its  dis- 
pensations. This  election  to'  holiness  has  nothing  to 
do  with  prescience;  it  depends  entirely  on  free  grace  and 
distinguishing  favour.  According  to  the  second  branch 
•  of  the  doctrine  of  election,  we  are  chosen  to  receive  the 
rewards  of  perfected  hoHness  and  of  persevering  obedi- 
ence, in  proportion  both  to  the  talents  which  free  distin- 
guishing grace  has  afforded  us,  and  to  the  manner  iu 
which  our  assisted  free  will  has  improved  those  talents. 
This  remunerative  election  depends  on  four  things: 
(1.)  On  free  grace,  promising  for  Christ's  sake  the  reward 
of  the  inheritance  to  the  persevering  obedience  of  faith. 
(2.)  On  faithful  free  will,  securing  that  reward  by 
the  assistance  of  free  grace,  and  by  the  free  obedience 
of  faith.  (3.)  On  divine  faithfulness,  keeping  ita 
gospel  promise  for  ever.  And,  (4.)  On  distributive 
justice,  dispensing  the  reward  according  to  the  law  of 
Christ,  and  according  to  every  man's  work.  This  elec- 
tion therefore  has  much  to  do  with  divine  prescience,  as 
depending  in  part  upon  God's  knowledge  that  "  some 
men  have  improved,  or  will  improve,  the  grace  which 
is  given  them,  repent,  believe,  and  be  good  [if  not  'very 
good']  and  faithful  servants  unto  the  end." 

Unprejudiced  readers  will  easily  see  how  much  our 
doctrine  of  election  is  preferable  to  that  of  our  oppo- 
nents.    Ours  draws  after  it  only  a  harmless  reprobation 
from  some  peculiar  favours,  and  a  righteous  reproba- 
5* 


106  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

tion  from  rewards  of  grace  and  glory  obstinately  de- 
spised, or  wantonly  forfeited ;  but  the  election  of  the 
Calvinists  is  clogged  with  the  dreadful  dogmas  of  an 
unscriptural  and  terrible  reprobation,  which  might  be 
compared  to  a  well-known  monster,  "Prima  Leo,  pos- 
trema  Draco,  media  ipsa  Chimera.''^  Its  head  is 
free  wrath  ;  its  body,  unavoidable  sin ;  and  its  tail, 
finished  damnation.  In  a  word,  our  electioti  recom- 
mends God's  free,  distinguishing  grace,  without  pouring 
any  contempt  on  the  holiness  of  Christ's  precepts,  the 
sanction  of  his  law,  the  veracity  of  his  threatenings, 
and  the  conditionality  of  his  promises.  And  our  rep- 
robation displays  God's  absolute  sovereignty,  without 
sullying  his  mercy,  impeaching  his  veracity,  or  dis- 
gracing his  justice.  In  a  word,  our  election  doctrinally 
guards  the  throne  of  sovereign  grace,  and  our  reproba- 
tion that  of  sovereign  justice:  but  Calvinian  election 
and  reprobation  doctrinally  overthrow  both  these 
thrones :  or  if  they  are  left  standing,  it  is  to  allow  free 
wrath  to  fill  the  throne  of  justice,  and  unchaste,  bloody 
Diana,  to  step  into  the  throne  of  grace,  whence  she 
hints  to  Laodicean  believers  that  they  may  with  advan- 
tage commit  adultery,  murder,  and  incest ;  calling  as 
many  as  take  her  horrid  innuendoes,  "  My  love,  my 
undefiled,"  <fec.,  and  assuring  them  that  they  shall  never 
perish,  and  that  all  things  (the  most  griev'ous  sins  not 
excepted)  shall  work  for  their  good. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE   VIII. 

"  I  believe  that  the  love  and  favour  of  Him,  with 
whom  is  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of  turning,  and 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  107 

whose  gifts  and  callings  are  without  repentance,  may 
vary,  change,  and  turn  every  hour,  and  every  moment, 
according  to  the  behaviour  of  the  creature." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE   VIII. 

We  believe  that  God's  works  were  all  originally  very 
good,  and  that  God  did  love  or  approve  of  them  all  as 
very  good  in  their  places.  We  maintain  that  some  of 
God's  works,  such  as  some  angels,  and  our  first  parents, 
by  free  avoidable  disobedience  forfeited  God's  love  or 
approbation.  He  approved  or  loved  them  while  they 
continued  righteous;  and  disapproved  or  hated  them 
when  the  bad  use  which  they  made  of  their  free  will 
deserved  his  disapprobation  or  hatred.  Again  :  we  be- 
lieve that  God's  absolute  gifts  and  callings  are  with- 
out repentance.  God  never  repented  that  he  gave  all 
mankind  his  paradisiacal  favour  in  Adam,  and  yet  all 
mankind  forfeited  it  by  the  fall.  God  never  repented 
that  he  called  all  his  servants,  and  "  gave  to  every  one" 
of  them  his  talents,  as  he  thought  fit ;  and  yet,  when 
the  "  wicked  and  slothful  servant  had  buried"  and  for- 
feited his  talent,  God  said,  "  Take  the  talent  from 
him !" 

Once  more:  we  believe,  that  so  certain  as  God  is 
the  gracious  Creator  and  the  righteous  Judge  of  angels 
and  men,  the  doctrines  of  divine  grace  and  divine  justice 
(or  the  two  gospel  axioms)  are  perfectly  reconcileable ; 
and  that,  of  consequence,  God  can  justly  curse  mankind 
with  temporal  death,  after  having  blessed  them  with 
paradisiacal  life ;  and  punish  them  in  hell,  after  having 
blessed  them  a  second  time  with  initial  salvation  during 
their  day  of  personal  probation  on  earth.    To  deny  this, 


108  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

is  to  deny  that  there  are  graves  on  earth,  or  torments  in 
hell,  for  any  of  the  children  of  men. 

Nevertheless,  we  believe  that  there  is  no  positive 
change  in  God.  From  eternity  to  eternity  he  is  the 
same  holy  and  faithful  God ;  therefore  he  unchange- 
ably "  loves  righteousness  and  hates  iniquity."  Apoa- 
tacy  in  men  or  in  angels  does  not  imply  any  change  in 
him  ;  the  change  being  only  in  the  receptive  disposition 
of  his  free  willing  creatures.  If  I  make  my  eyes  so 
sore  that  I  cannot  look  with  pleasure  at  the  sun,  or  that 
its  beams,  which  cheered  me  yesterday,  give  me  pain 
to-day ;  this  is  no  proof  that  the  sun  has  changed  its 
nature.  The  law  that  condemns  a  murderer  absolves 
me  now ;  but  if  I  stab  my  neighbour  in  ten  minutes, 
the  same  law  that  now  absolves  me  will  in  ten  minutes 
condemn  me.  "  Impossible  !"  says  Mr.  Hill's  scheme  : 
"  the  law  changes  not."  I  grant  it ;  but  a  free  agent 
may  change ;  and  the  law  of  liberty,  which  is  but  the 
transcript  of  God's  eternal  nature,  is  so  ordered,  that, 
without  changing  at  all,  it  nevertheless  treats  all  free 
agents  according  to  their  changes.  The  changes  that 
God  makes  in  the  world  do  not  change  him ;  much 
less  is  he  changed  by  the  variations  of  free  agents : 
such  variations,  indeed,  lay  rebels  and  penitents  open  to 
a  new  aspect  from  the  Deity ;  but  that  aspect  was  in 
the  Deity  before  they  laid  themselves  open  to  it.  Fire, 
without  changing  its  nature,  melts  wax  and  stiffens 
clay ;  now,  if  a  rebel's  heart  absolutely  hardens  itself, 
so  that  it  becomes  like  unyielding  clay ;  or  if  a  peni- 
tent's heart  humbles  itself,  so  that  it  becomes  like  yield- 
ing wax,  God  changes  not  any  more  than  the  fire, 
when  he  hardens  the  stiff  rebel  by  resisting  him,  and 
melts  the  yielding  penitent  by  giving  him  more  grace. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  109 

To  understand  this  better,  we  must  remember  that 
God's  eternal  nature  is  to  "  resist  the  proud,  and  give 
grace  to  the  humble ;"  and  that  when  free  grace  (which 
has  appeared  to  all  men)  assists  us,  we  are  as  free  to 
choose  humility  and  life  as  we  are  to  choose  pride 
and  death  when  we  dally  with  temptation,  or  indulge 
the  natural  depravity  of  our  own  hearts.  Hence  it 
follows  that  the  judicious  difference  which  God  makes 
when  he  alternately  smiles  and  frowns,  dispenses  re- 
wards and  punishments,  springs  not  from  any  altera- 
tion in  his  unchangeable  nature,  but  from  a  change  in 
the  mutable  will  and  behaviour  of  free  agents ;  a  change 
this,  which  arises  from  their  will  freely  resisting- 
divine  grace,  if  the  alteration  be  for  the  worse ;  and 
from  their  will  yielding  tvithout  necessity  to  that 
grace,  if  the  change  be  for  the  better.  Nor  are  we 
any  more  ashamed  to  own  man's  free  agency  before  a 
world  of  fatalists  than  we  are  ashamed  to  say,  "  Verily 
there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous :  though  hand  join 
in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  be  unpunished :  doubt- 
less there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  the  earth,  and  will 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works ;"  that  is, 
according  to  his  free  will ;  works  being  our  own  works 
only  so  far  as  they  spring  from  our  own  free  will.  And 
we  think  that  the  opposite  doctrine  is  one  of  the  most 
absurd  errors  that  ever  disgraced  Christianity ;  and  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  engines  which  were  ever  invented 
in  Babel  to  sap  the  walls  of  Jerusalem ; — a  dreadful 
engine  this,  which,  if  it  rested  upon  truth,  would  pour 
floods  of  disgrace  on  all  the  divine  perfections ;  would 
overset  the  tribunal  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth ;  and 
would  raise  upon  the  tremendous  ruins  the  throne  of 
the  doctrinal  idol  of  the  day :  I  mean  the  spurious  doc- 


110  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

trine  of  grace,  which  I  have  sometimes  called  the  great 
Diana  of  the  Calvinists,  because,  like  the  great  Diana 
of  the  Ephesians,  it  may  pass  at  once  for  Luna,  or 
finished  salvation  in  heaven,  and  for  Hecate,  or 
finished  damnation  in  hell. 


THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

"  I  believe  that  the  seed  of  the  word  by  which  God's 
children  are  born  again  is  a  corruptible  seed  ;  and  that, 
so  far  from  enduring  for  ever,  (as  that  mistaken  apostle 
Peter  rashly  affirms,)  it  is  frequently  rooted  out  of  the 
hearts  of  those  in  whom  it  is  sown." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

We  believe  that  the  word  or  the  truth  of  God  is  the 
divine  seed  by  which  sinners  are  born  again  when 
they  receive  it,  that  is,  when  they  believe;  and  this 
spiritual  seed  (as  that  enlightened  apostle  Peter  justly 
affirms)  "  endures  for  ever ;" — but  not  for  Antinomian 
purposes ; — not  to  say  to  fallen  believers,  in  the  very  act 
of  adultery  or  incest,  "  My  love  !  my  undefiled  !"  No : 
it  "  endures  for  ever,"  as  a  seed  of  reviving  or  terrifying 
truth:  it  "endures  for  ever"  as  a  two-edged  sword  to 
defend  the  righteous,  or  to  wound  the  wicked ;  to  pro- 
tect obedient  believers,  or  to  pierce  disobedient  and  ob- 
stinate unbelievers ;  it  "  endures  for  ever"  as  a  sweet 
"  savour  of  life"  to  them  that  receive  and  keep  it ;  and 
as  a  bitter  "  savour  of  death"  to  them  that  never  receive 
it,  and  to  them  that  finally  cast  it  away,  and  neve 
"  bring  forth  fruit  to  perfection." 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  Ill 

But  although  the  seed  of  the  word  can  never  be  lost 
with  respect  to  both  its  effects,  yet  (as  we  have  already 
observed)  it  is  too  frequently  lost  with  regard  to  its  more 
desirable  effect ;  if  Mr.  Hill  doubts  of  it,  we  refer  him 
to  the  parable  of  the  sower,  where  our  Lord  observes 
that  the  good  seed  was  thus  lost  in  three  sorts  of  people 
out  of  four,  merely  through  the  want  of  co-operation  or 
concurrence  on  the  part  of  free  will,  which  he  calls  good 
or  bad  ground,  soft  or  "  stony  ground,"  &c.,  according 
to  the  good  or  bad  choice  it  makes,  and  according  to  the 
steadiness  or  fickleness  of  that  choice.  And  if  Mr.  Hill 
exclaim  against  the  obvious  meaning  of  so  well-known 
a  portion  of  the  gospel,  the  world  will  easily  see  that, 
supposing  his  doctrine  of  grace  deserves  to  be  called 
chaste,  when  it  prompts  him  to  vindicate,  as  openly  as 
he  dares,  the  profitableness  of  adultery  and  incest  to 
fallen  believers;  it  by  no  means  merits  to  be  called 
devout,  when  it  excites  him  to  insinuate  that  our  Loi-d 
preached  a  "shocking,  not  to  say  blasphemous  doc- 
trine." 

THE  FICTITIOUS  CREED. 

ARTICLE   X. 

"  I  believe  that  Christ  does  not  always  give  unto  his 
sheep  eternal  life ;  but  that  they  often  perish,  and  are 
by  the  power  of  Satan  frequently  plucked  out  of  his 
hand." 

THE  GENUINE  CREED. 

ARTICLE   X. 

We  believe  that  Christ's  sheep,  mentioned  in  John  x, 
are  obedient,  persevering  believers ;  that  is,  as  our  Lord 
himself  describes  them,  John  x,  4,  5,  27,  persons  that 


112  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

"  hear  [i.  e.,  obey]  his  voice,"  and  "  whom  he  knows," 
[i.  e.,  approves ;]  persons  that  "  know  [i.  e.,  approve]  his 
voice ;"  that  "  know  not  [i.  e.,  do  not  approve]  the  voice 
of  strangers ;"  and  "  flee  from  a  stranger,"  instead  of 
following  him :  in  a  word,  persons  that  actually  "  follow 
the  good  Shepherd"  in  some  of  his  folds  or  pastures. 
In  this  description  of  a  sheep,  every  verb  is  put  in  the 
present  tense,  to  show  us  that  the  word  sheep  denotes 
a  character,  or  persons  actually  possessed  of  such  a 
character.  So  that  the  moment  the  character  changes ; 
the  moment  a  man  who  once  left  all  to  follow  Christ 
leaves  Christ  to  "  follow  a  stranger,"  he  has  no  more  to 
do  with  the  name  and  privileges  of  a  sheep  than  a 
deserter  or  a  rebel  has  to  do  with  the  name  and  privi- 
leges of  his  majesty's  soldiers  or  subjects. 

According,  then,  to  our  doctrine,  no  "  sheep  of 
Christ"  that  is,  no  actual  follower  of  the  Redeemer, 
perishes.  We  think  it  is  shocking  to  say  that  any  of 
them  are  plucked  out  of  his  hand.  On  the  contrary, 
we  frequently  say,  with  St.  Peter,  "  Who  will  harm  you 
[much  more,  who  will  separate  you  from  the  love  of 
Christ]  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good  ?"  i.  e., 
if  you  be  sheep :  and  we  insist  upon  the  veracity  of  our 
Lord's  promise,  "He  that  endureth  unto  the  end,"  in 
the  character  of  a  sheep,  i.  e.,  in  the  way  of  faith  and 
obedience,  "  the  same  shall  be  [eternally]  saved."  And 
we  maintain,  that  so  long  as  a  believer  does  not  make 
shipwreck  of  the  faith  and  of  a  good  conscience;  so 
long  as  he  continues  a  sheep,  a  harmless  follower  of  the 
Lamb  of  God,  he  can  no  more  perish  than  God's  ever- 
lasting throne  can  be  overturned.  But  what  has  this 
doctrine  of  our  Lord  to  do  with  Calvinism  ? 

With  regard  to  the  sheep  mentioned  in  Matt,  xxv, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  113 

33,  34,  whom  our  Lord  calls  "  blessed  of  his  Father," 
we  believe  that  they  represent  the  multitude  of  obedient, 
persevering  beUevers,  whom  two  apostles  describe  thus : 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  [God's]  commandments, 
that  they  may  have  right  [or,  if  Mr.  Hill  pleases,  privi- 
leg-e]  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  enter,  (fee,  into  the  city," 
Rev.  xxii,  14.  "  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth 
temptation !  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  'hath  promised  to  them 
that  love  him."  "  And  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we 
keep  his  commandments,"  James  i,  12 ;  1  John  v,  3. 
For  such  enduring,  obedient  believers,  a  kingdom  of 
glory  "  is  prepared  from  the  foundation  of  the  world :" 
and  to  it  they  are  and  shall  be  judicially  elected ;  while 
the  goats,  i.  e.,  unbeUevers,  or  disobedient,  fallen  be- 
lievers, are  and  shall  be  judicially  reprobated  from  it. 
Hence  it  is,  that  when  our  Lord  accounts  for  his  judi- 
cial election  of  the  obedient,  (whom  he  parabolically 
calls  sheep,)  he  does  not  say,  "  Inherit  the  kingdom," 
<fcc. ;  fo7'  I  absolutely  Jinished  your  salvation :  but  he 
says,  "  Inherit  the  kingdom,  for  ye  gave  me  meat,"  &c. ; 
ye  fed  the  hungry  from  a  right  motive ;  and  what  you 
did  in  that  manner,  I  reward  it  as  if  you  had  done  it  to 
myself.  In  other  terms,  "  Ye  heard  my  voice,  and  fol- 
lowed me ;"  in  hearing  the  whispers  of  my  grace,  and 
following  the  light  of  your  dispensation ;  and  now  I 
own  you  as  my  eternally  rewardable  elect,  my  sheep, 
which  have  followed  me  without  finally  drawing  back. 
Again :  when  our  Lord  gives  an  account  of  the  judi- 
cial reprobation  of  the  finally  disobedient,  whom  he 
parabolically  calls  goats,  he  does  not  say,  "  Depart,  ye 
cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world ;"  for  then  I  absolutely  finished 


114  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

your  eternal  reprobation.  No :  this  is  the  counterpart 
of  the  gospel  of  the  day.  But  he  says,  "  Depart,  <fec. ; 
for  ye  gave  me  no  meat,"  by  feeding  the  hungry  in 
your  generation,  (fcc. :  that  is,  ye  did  not  believingly 
follow  me  in  following  your  light  and  my  precepts. 
Either  you  never  began  your  course,  or  you  drew  back 
before  you  had  finished  it.  Either  you  never  volun- 
tarily listed  under  my  banner,  or  you  deserted  before 
you  had  "  fought  the  godd  fight"  out :  either  you  never 
believed  in  me,  the  light  of  the  world,  and  your  light ; 
or,  instead  of  keeping  the  faith,  you  voluntarily,  avoid- 
ably, unnecessarily,  and  resolutely  made  shipwreck  of 
it  and  of  a  good  conscience :  and  therefore  your  damna- 
tion is  of  yourselves.  You  have  personally  forfeited 
your  conditional  election  to  the  rewards  of  persevering 
obedience,  and  personally  made  your  conditional  re- 
probation from  those  rewards  sure  by  your  final  dis- 
obedience. 

From  these  evangelical  descriptions  of  the  sheep  and 
the  goats,  mentioned  in  John  x,  and  Matt,  xxv,  it  ap- 
pears to  us  indubitable:  (1.)  That  these  sheep  [i.  e., 
obedient,  persevering  believers]  "  shall  never  perish  ;" 
although  they  might  have  perished,  if  they  had  "brought 
upon  themselves  swift  destruction  by  denying  the  Lord 
that  bought  them."  (2.)  That  they  shall  be  eternally 
saved,  although  they  might  have  missed  eternal  salva- 
tion, if  they  had  finally  disregarded  our  Lord's  declara- 
tion :  "  He  that  endureth  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall 
be  [finally]  saved."  (3.)  That  the  good  Shepherd  pecu- 
liarly laid  down  his  life  for  the  eternal  redemption  of 
obedient,  persevering  believers ;  and  that  these  believers 
are  sometimes  eminently  called  God's  elect,  because 
they  make  their  conditional  calling  to  the  rewards  of 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  115 

perseverance  sure,  by  actually  persevering  in  the  obe- 
dience of  faith.  (4.)  That  the  peculiarity  of  the  eternal 
redemption  of  Christ's  persevering  followers,  far  from 
being  connected  with  the  absolute  reprobation  of  the 
rest  of  mankind,  stands  in  perfect  agreement  with  the 
doctrines  of  a  general,  temporary  redemption,  and  a 
general,  initial  salvation ;  and  with  the  doctrines  of 
a  gratuitous  election  to  the  blessings  of  one  or  another 
dispensation  of  God's  saving  grace ;  and  of  a  condi- 
tional election  to  the  rewards  of  voluntary,  unnecessi- 
tated  obedience.  (5.)  That  our  opponents  give  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  two  desperate  stabs,  when  they 
secure  the  peculiar,  eternal  redemption  of  finally  dis- 
obedient believers,  and  comfort  mourning  backsliders  in 
so  unhappy  a  manner,  as  to  overthrow  the  general, 
temporary  redem,ption  of  all  mankind,  and  to  encou- 
rage or  countenance  the  present  disobedience  of  Laodi- 
cean believers.  (6.)  That  the  Calvinian  doctrines  of 
grace,  which  do  this  double  mischief  under  such  fair 
pretences,  are,  of  all  the  tares  which  the  enemy  sows, 
those  which  come  nearest  to  the  wheat,  and  of  conse- 
quence those  by  which  he  can  best  feed  his  immoral 
goats,  deceive  simple  souls,  set  Christ's  moral  sheep  at 
perpetual  variance,  turn  the  fruitful  field  of  the  church 
into  a  barren  field  of  controversy,  and  make  a  Deistical 
world  think  that  faith  is  enthusiastical  fancy;  that 
orthodoxy  is  immoral  nonsense ;  and  that  revelation  is 
nothing  but  an  apple  of  discord.  (7.)  And,  lastly,  that 
the  doctrines  of  grace  which  we  maintain  do  equal 
justice  to  the  divine  attributes;  defend  faith,  without 
wounding  obedience ;  oppose  Pharisaism,  without  re- 
commending Antinomianism  ;  assert  the  truth  of  God's 
promises,  without  representing  his  most  awful  threaten- 


116  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ings  as  words  without  meaning;  reconcile  the  Scrip- 
tures, without  wounding  conscience  and  reason ;  exalt 
the  gracious  wonders  of  the  day  of  atonement,  without 
setting  aside  the  righteous  terrors  of  the  great  day  of 
retribution ;  extol  our  heavenly  Priest,  without  pouring 
contempt  upon  our  divine  Prophet ;  and  celebrate  the 
honours  of  his  cross,  without  turning  his  sceptre  of 
righteousness  into  a  Solifidian  reed,  his  royal  crowQ 
into  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  his  law  of  liberty  into  a 
rule  of  life,  by  which  his  subjects  can  no  more  stand 
or  fall  in  judgment  than  an  Englishman  can  stand  or 
fall  by  the  rules  of  civility  followed  at  the  French 
court. 

To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  reader,  thou  hast  been 
led  into  the  depth  of  our  doctrines  of  grace.  I  have 
opened  to  thee  the  mysteries  of  the  evangeUcal  system, 
which  Mr.  Hill  attacks  as  the  heresy  of  Arminians. 
And  now  let  im,partiality  hand  thee  up  to  the  judg- 
ment seat :  let  reason  and  revelation  hold  out  to  thee 
their  consentaneous  hght :  pray  that  the  "  Spirit  of 
truth"  may  help  thine  infirmities :  turn  prejudice  out 
of  the  court ;  and  let  candour  pronounce  the  sentence, 
and  say  whether  our  principles  or  those  of  Mr.  Hill 
"  inevitably"  draw  after  them  "  shcicking,  not  to  say 
blasphemous,"  consequences  ? 

I  shall  close  this  answer  to  the  creed  which  that 
gentleman  hzis  composed  for  Arminians  by  an  observa- 
tion which  is  not  entirely  foreign  to  our  controversy. 
In  one  of  the  Three  Letters  which  introduce  the  Ficti- 
tious Creed  Mr.  Hill  says :  "  Controversy,  I  am  per- 
suaded, has  not  done  me  any  good ;"  and  he  exhorts 
me  to  examine  closely  whether  I  cannot  make  the  same 
confession.     I  own  that  it  would  have  done  me  barm, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  117 

if  I  had  blindly  contended  for  my  opinions.  Nay,  if  I 
had  shut  my  eyes  against  the  light  of  truth ;  if  I  had 
set  the  plainest  scriptures  aside,  as  if  they  were  not 
worth  my  notice;  if  I  had  overlooked  the  strongest 
arguments  of  my  opponents ;  if  I  had  advanced  ground- 
less charges  against  them ;  if  I  had  refused  to  do  justice 
to  their  good  meaning  or  piety :  and,  above  all,  if  I  had 
taken  my  leave  of  them  by  injuring  their  moral  charac- 
ter, by  publishing  over  and  over  again  arguments  which 
they  had  properly  answered,  without  taking  the  least 
notice  of  their  answers ;  if  I  had  made  a  solemn  pro- 
mise not  to  read  one  of  their  books,  though  they  should 
publish  a  thousand  volumes ;  if,  continuing  to  write 
against  them,  I  had  fixed  upon  them  (as  "  unavoidable" 
consequences)  absurd  tenets,  which  have  no  more  ne- 
cessary connection  with  their  principles  than  the  doc- 
trine of  general  redemption  has  with  Calvinian  repro- 
bation ;  if  I  had  done  this,  I  say,  controversy  would 
have  wounded  my  conscience  or  my  reason ;  and,  with- 
out adding  any  thing  to  my  light,  it  would  have  im- 
moveably  fixed  me  in  my  prejudices,  and  perhaps  brand- 
ed me  before  the  world  for  an  Arnimian  bigot.  But,  as 
matters  are,  I  hope  I  may  make  the  following  acknow- 
ledgment without  betraying  the  impertinence  of  proud 
boasting. 

Although  I  have  often  been  sorry  that  controversy 
should  take  up  so  much  of  the  time  which  I  might, 
with  much  satisfaction  to  myself,  have  employed  in  de- 
votional exercises ;  and  although  I  have  lamented,  and 
do  still  lament,  my  low  attainments  in  the  "  meekness 
of  wisdom,"  which  should  constantly  guide  the  pen  of 
every  controversial  writer ;  yet  I  rejoice  that  I  have  been 
enabled  to  persist  in  my  resolution  either  to  wipe  off  or 


118  BEATTTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 

to  share  the  reproach  of  those  who  have  hazarded  their 
reputation  in  defence  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion : 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  my  repeated  attempts  have 
been  attended  with  these  happy  effects.  In  vindicating 
the  moral  doctrines  of  grace,  I  hope  that,  as  a  man,  I 
have  learned  to  think  more  closely,  and  to  investigate 
truth  more  ardently,  than  I  did  before.  There  are 
rational  powers  in  the  dullest  souls,  which  he  hid  as 
sparks  in  a  flint.  Controversial  opposition  and  exer- 
tion, like  the  stroke  of  the  steel,  have  made  me  accident- 
ally find  out  some  of  these  latent  sparks  of  reeison,  for 
which  I  should  never  have  thanked  my  Maker  if  I  .had 
never  discovered  them.  I  have  frequently  been  thank- 
ful to  find  that  my  horse  could  travel  in  bad  roads  better 
than  I  expected ;  nor  do  I  think  that  it  is  a  piece  of 
Pharisaism  to  say,  I  am  thankful  to  find  that  my  mind 
can  travel  with  more  ease  than  I  thought  she  could 
through  theological  roads,  rendered  almost  impassable 
by  heaps  of  doctrinal  rubbish  brought  from  all  parts  of 
Christendom,  and  by  briers  of  contention  which  have 
kept  growing  for  above  a  thousand  years.  To  return : 
As  a  divine,  I  see  more  clearly  the  gaps  and  stiles  at 
which  mistaken  good  men  have  turned  out  of  the 
narrow  way  of  truth  to  the  right  hand  and  to  the  left. 
As  a  Protestant,  I  hope  I  have  much  more  esteem  for 
the  Scriptures  in  general,  and  in  particular  for  those 
practical  parts  of  them  which  the  Calvinists  had  insen- 
sibly taught  me  to  overlook  or  despise:  and  this  in- 
creasing esteem  is,  I  trust,  accompanied  with  a  deeper 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  with  a  greater 
readiness  to  defend  the  gospel  against  infidels,  Pharisees, 
and  Antinomians.  As  a  preacher,  I  hope  I  can  do 
more  justice  to  a  text,  by  reconciling  it  with  seemingly 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHEft.  119 

contrary  scriptures.      As   an  a7iti-Calvinist,  I  have 
learned  to  do  the  Calvinists  justice  in  granting  that 
there  is  an  election  of  distinguishing  grace  for  God's 
peculiar  people,  and  a  particular  redemption  for  all 
believers  who  are  faithful  unto  death  ;    and  by  that 
means,  as  a  controvertist,  I  can  more  easily  excuse 
pious  Calvinists,  who,  through  prejudice,  mistake  that 
Scriptural  election  for  their  Antinomian  election ;  and 
who  consider  that  particular  redemption  as  the  only 
redemption  nientioned  in  the  Scriptures.     Nay,  I  can, 
without  scruple,  allow  Mr.  Hill,  that  his  doctrines  of 
finished  salvation  and  irresistible  grace  are  true 
with  respect  to  all  those  who  die  in  their  infancy.     As 
one  who  is  called  an  Arminian,  I  have  found  out  some 
flaws  in  Arminianism,  and  evidenced  my  impartiaUty 
in  pointing  them  out,  as  well  as  the  flaws  of  Calvinism.* 
As  a  witness  for  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  I  hope  I  have 
learned  to  bear  reproach  from  all  sorts  of  people  with 
more  undaunted  courage:  and  I  humbly  trust  that, 
were  I  called  to  seal  with  my  blood  the  truth  of  the 
doctrines  of  grace   and  justice  against  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Antinomians,  I  could  (divine  grace  supporting 
rae  to  the  last)  do  it  more  rationally,  and  of  conse- 
quence with  greater  steadiness.     Again :  as  a  follower 
of  Christ,  I  hope  I  have   learned   to  disregard  my 
dearest  friends  for  my  heavenly  Prophet :  or,  to  speak 
the  language  of  our  Lord,  I  hope  I  have  learned  to 
"  forsake  father,  mother,  and  brothers,  for  Christ's  sake 
and  the  gospel's."    As  a  disputant,  I  have  learned  that 
solid  arguments  and  plain  scriptures  make  no  more 
impression  upon  bigotry  than  the  charmer's  voice  does 

*  See  Preface  to  Fictitious  and  Genuine  Creed,  Fletcher's  Works, 
vol.  i,  p.  395. 


120  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

upon  the  deaf  adder;  and  by  that  mean,  I  hope,  I 
depend  less  upon  the  powers  of  reason,  the  letter  of 
the  Scripture,  and  the  candour  of  professors,  than  I 
formerly  did.  As  a  believer,  I  have  been  brought  to 
see  and  feel  that  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
which  teaches  men  to  be  of  one  heart  and  of  one  mind, 
and  makes  them  think  and  speak  the  same,  is  at  a 
very  low  ebb  in  the  religious  world ;  and  that  the  prayer 
which  I  ought  continually  to  offer  is,  O  Lord,  baptize 
Christians  with  the  Spirit  of  truth,  and  the  fire  of  love. 
Thy  kingdom  come !  Bring  thy  church  out  of  the 
wilderness  of  error  and  sin  into  the  kingdom  of  "  right- 
eousness, peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  As  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  England,  I  have  learned  to 
be  pleased  with  our  holy  mother  for  giving  us  floods  of 
pure  morality  to  wash  away  the  few  remaining  Cal- 
vinian  freckles  still  perceptible  upon  her  face.  As  a 
Christian,  I  hope  I  have  learned  in  some  degree  to 
exercise  that  charity  which  teaches  us  boldly  to  oppose 
a  dangerous  error,  without  ceasing  to  honour  and  love 
its  abettors,  so  far  as  they  resemble  our  Lord  ;  and 
teaches  us  to  use  an  irony  with  St.  Paul  and  Jesus 
Christ,  not  as  an  enemy  uses  a  dagger,  but  as  a  sur- 
geon uses  a  lancet  or  a  caustic :  and,  lastly,  as  a  writer, 
I  have  learned  to  feel  the  truth  of  Solomon's  observa- 
tion: "Of  making  many  books  there  fe  no  end,  and 
much  study  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh ;  let  us  hear  the 
conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  :  fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments ;  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man," 
and  the  sum  of  the  anti-Solfidian  truth  which  I  endea- 
vour to  vindicate. 

I  do  not  say  that  I  have  learned  any  of  these  lessons 
as  I  should  have  done ;  but  I  hope  I  have  learned  so 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  121 

much  of  them  as  to  say  that  in  these  respects  my  con- 
troversial toil  has  not  been  altogether  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.     And  now,  reader,  let  me  entreat  thee  to  pray 
that,  if  I  am  spared  to  vindicate  more  fully  what  ap- 
pears to  us  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  grace,  I  may 
be  so  helped  by  the  Father  of  lights  and  the  God  of 
love,  as  to  speak  the  pure  truth  in  perfect  love,  and 
never  more  drop  a  needlessly  severe  expression.     Some 
3uch  have  escaped  me  before  I  was  aware.     In  endea- 
vouring to  render  my  style  nervous,  I  have  sometimes 
inadvertently  rendered  it  provoking.     Instead  of  saying 
that  the  doctrines  of  grace  (so  called)  represented  God 
as  "absolutely  graceless"  toward  myriads  of  "repro- 
bated culprits,"  I  would  now  say  that,  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  my  opponents,  God  appears  "  devoid  of  grace" 
toward  those  whom  he  has  absolutely  "  reprobated"  from 
all  eternity.     The  thought  is  the  same,  I  grant ;  but 
the  expressions  are  less  grating  and  more  decent.    This 
propriety  of  language  I  labour  after,  as  well  as  after 
more  meekness  of  wisdom.     The  Lord  help  me  and 
my  antagonists  to  "  keep  our  garments  clean  !"     Con- 
trovertists  ought  to  be  clothed  with  an  ardent,  flaming 
love  for  truth,  and  a  candid,  humble  regard  for  their 
neighbours.    May  no  root  of  prejudice  stain  that  flaming 
love !  no  malice  rend  our  seamless  garments !  and,  if 
they  are  ever  "  rolled  in  blood,"  may  it  be  only  in  the 
blood  of  our  common  enemies,  destructive  error,  and 
the  man  of  sin  ! 

6 


122  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  SCRIPTURAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  ASTONISHING  RE- 
WARDABLENESS  OF  WORKS  ACCORDING  TO  THE 
COVENANT  OF  GRACE. 

SECTION  I. 

▲  VARIETY  OF  PLAIN  SCRIPTURES,  WHICH  SHOW  THAT 
HEAVEN  ITSELF  IS  THE  GRACIOUS  REWARD  OF  THE 
WORKS  OF  FAITH,  AND  THAT  BELIEVERS  MAY  LOSE 
THAT    REWARD    BY    BAD    WORKS. 

Having  particularly  guarded,  in  the  preceding  dis- 
course, the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  having  endeavoured  to  secure  the  foundation 
of  the  gospel  against  the  unwearied  attacks  of  the 
Pharisees,  I  shall  now  particularly  guard  the  works  of 
the  covenant  of  grace,  and  by  that  mean  I  shall  secure 
the  superstructure  against  the  perpetual  assaults  of  the 
Antinomians ;  a  part  of  my  work  this,  which  is  so  much 
the  more  important,  as  the  use  of  a  strong  founda- 
tion is  only  to  bear  up  a  useful  structure. 

None  but  fools  act  without  motive.  To  deprive  a 
wise  man  of  every  motive  to  act,  is  to  keep  him  in  total 
inaction;  and  to  rob  him  of  some  grand  motive,  is 
considerably  to  weaken  his  willingness  to  act,  or  his 
fervour  in  acting.  The  burning  love  of  God  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  generous  motive  to  obedience ;  but 
alas !  thousands  of  good  men,  like  Cornelius,  are  yet 
strangers  to  that  powerful  principle  shed  abroad  in  their 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  thousands  of  weak  be- 
lievers love  is  not  yet  properly  kindled ;  it  is  rather  a 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  123 

smoking  flax  than  a  blazing  fire :  in  thousands  of  La- 
odicean professors  it  is  scarcely  lukewarm ;  and  in  all 
apostates  it  is  waxed  cold.  Therefore,  in  the  sickly 
state  of  the  church  militant,  it  is  as  absurd  in  preach* 
ers  to  urge  no  motive  of  good  works  but  grateful  love, 
as  it  would  be  in  physicians  to  insist  that  a  good  Ho* 
mach  must  be  the  only  motive  from  which  their 
patients  ought  to  take  either  food  or  physic. 

Our  Lord,  far  from  countenancing  our  doctrinal 
refinements  in  this  respect,  perpetually  secures  the 
practice  of  good  works,  by  promising  heaven  to  all  that 
persevere  in  doing  them  ;  while  he  deters  us  from  sin  by 
threatening  destruction  to  all  that  persist  in  committing 
it ;  working  thus  alternately  upon  our  hopes  and  fears, 
those  powerful  springs  of  action  in  the  human  breast. 

The  force  of  this  double  incentive  to  practical  reli- 
gion I  greatly  weakened,  when,  being  carried  away  by 
the  stream  of  Solifidianism,  I  rashly  said  in  my  old  ser- 
mon, after  some  of  our  reformers,  that  "  good  works  shall 
"be  rewarded  in  heaven  and  eternal  life,  although  not 
with  eternal  life  and  heaven."  An  Antinomian  error 
this,  which  I  again  publicly  renounce,  and  against 
which  I  enter  the  following  Scriptural  protest. 

If  the  oracles  of  God  command  us  to  work  from  ail 
initial  life  of  grace  for  an  eternal  life  of  glory,  fre- 
quently annexing  the  promise  of  heavenly  bliss  to  good 
works,  and  threatening  all  workers  of  iniquity  with 
hell  torments,  it  follows,  that  heaven  will  be  the  gra- 
cious reward  of  good  works,  and  hell  the  just  wages  of 
bad  ones. 

I  readily  grant,  however,  that  if  we  consider  our- 
selves merely  as  sinners,  in  the  light  of  the  first  gospel 
axiom,  and  according  to  the  covenant  of  works,  whi^h 


124  .  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

we  have  so  frequently  broken,  heaven  is  merely  the 
gift  of  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  for,  ac- 
cording to  that  covenant,  destruction  is  the  wages  of  all 
who  have  committed  sin.  But  if  we  be  converted  sin- 
ners, or  obedient  beUevers,  and  if  we  consider  ourselves 
in  the  light  of  the  second  gospel  axiom,  and  according 
to  the  covenant  of  grace,  every  unprejudiced  person, 
who  believes  the  Bible,  must  allow  that  heaven  is  the 
gracious  reward  of  our  works  of  faith. 

An  illustration  may  help  the  reader  to  see  the  just- 
ness of  this  distinction.  A  charitable  nobleman  dis- 
charges the  debts  of  ten  insolvent  prisoners,  sets  them 
up  in  great  or  litde  farms,  according  to  their  respective 
abilities,  and  laying  down  a  thousand  pounds  before 
them,  he  says : — "  I  have  already  done  much  for  you, 
but  I  will  do  more  still.  I  freely  give  you  this  purse  to 
encourage  your  industry.  You  shall  share  this  gold 
among  you,  if  you  manage  your  farms  according  to  my 
directions ;  but  if  you  let  your  fields  be  overiun  with 
thorns,  you  shall  not  only  lose  the  bounty  I  design  for 
the  industrious,  but  forfeit  all  my  preceding  favours." 
Now,  who  does  not  see  that  the  thousand  pounds  thus 
laid  down  are  a  free  gift  of  the  nobleman ;  that,  never- 
theless, upon  the  performance  of  the  condition  or  terms 
he  has  fixed,  they  become  a  gracious  reward  of  indus- 
try; and  that  consequently  the  obtaining  of  this  re- 
ward turns  now  entirely  upon  the  works  of  industry 
performed  by  the  farmers? 

Just  so  eternal  salvation  is  the  free  gift  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ ;  and  yet  the  obtaining  of  it  (on 
the  part  of  adults)  turns  entirely  upon  their  works  of 
faith ;  that  is,  upon  their  works  as  well  as  upon  their 
faith.     Hence  the  Scripture  says  indifferendy,  "  He  that 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  125 

believeth  is  not  condemned ;"  and,  "  If  thou  doest  well 
shalt  thou  not  be  accepted  ?"  "All  that  believe  are  jus- 
tified;" and,  "He  that  worketh  righteousness  is  ac- 
cepted." Our  Lord,  speaking  of  a  weeping  penitent, 
says  equally :  "  Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven, 
for  she  loved  much;"  and,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven; 
thy  faith  hath  saved  thee."  As  for  St.  Paul,  though  he 
always  justly  excludes  the  works  of  unbelief,  and  merely 
ceremonial  works,  yet  he  so  joins  faith  and  the  works 
of  faith,  as  to  show  us  they  are  equally  necessary  to 
eternal  salvation.  "  There  is  no  condemnation,"  says 
he,  "  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  by  faith,"  (here  is  the 
Pharisee's  portion,)  "  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but 
after  the  Spirit."  (Here  is  the  Antinomian's  portion.) 
Hence  it  appears,  that  hving  faith  now  and  always 
works  righteousness,  and  that  the  works  of  righteous- 
ness now*  and  always  accompany  faith,  so  long  as  it 
remains  living. 

"  I  know  this  is  the  doctrine,"  says  the  judicious  Mr. 
Baxter,  "that  will  have  the  loudest  outcries  raised 
against  it,  and  will  make  some  cry  out.  Heresy,  Po- 
pery, Socinianism !  and  what  not?  For  my  own 
part,  the  Searcher  of  hearts  knoweth  that  not  singu- 
larity, nor  any  good  will  to  Popery,  provoketh  me  to 
entertain  it;  but  that  I  have  earnestly  sought  the 
Lord's  direction  upon  my  knees  before  I  durst  adven- 
ture on  it ;  and  that  I  resisted  the  light  of  this  conclu- 
sion as  long  as  I  was  able."  May  this  bright  testimony 
make  way  for  an  illuminated  cloud  of  prophets  and 
/ 

•  I  use  the  word  now,  to  stop  up  the  Antinomian  gap  which  one 
of  my  opponents  tries  to  keep  open  by  insinuating,  that  though  a 
true  believer  may  commit  adultery  and  murder  now,  yet  he  will 
always  work  righteousness  before  he  die. 


136  BEAT7TIES    OF  rLETCHER. 

apostles!  and  may  the  Sun  of  righteougness,  rising 
behind  it,  so  scatter  the  shades  of  error,  that  we  may 
awake  out  of  our  Laodicean  sleep,  and  Antinomian 
dreams,  and  see  a  glorious,  unclouded  gospel  day ! 

That,  in  subordination  to  Christ,  our  eternal  salva- 
tion depends  upon  good  works,  i.  e.,  upon  the  works  of 
faith,  will,  I  think,  appear  indubitable  to  them  that 
believe  the  Bible,  and  candidly  consider  the  follow- 
ing scriptures,  in  which  heaven  and  eternal  life  in 
glory  are  suspended  upon  works,  if  they  spring  from 
a  sincere  belief  in  the  light  of  our  dispensation ;  I  say, 
if  they  spring  from  true  faith,  it  being  absolutely 
impossible  for  a  heathen,  and  much  more  for  a  Chris- 
tian, to  work  righteousness  without  believing  in  some 
degree  "that  God  is,  and  that  he  is  the  rewarder 
of  them  that  dihgently  seek  him,"  as  well  as  the 
punisher  of  them  that  presumptuously  sin  against 
him.  "For  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God ;"  all  feithless  works  springing  merely  from  super- 
stition, like  those  of  Baal's  priests,  or  from  hypocrisy, 
like  those  of  the  Pharisees.  Having  thus  guarded 
again  the  doctrine  of  faith,  I  produce  some  of  the 
many  scriptures  that  directly  or  indirectly  annex  the 
above-mentioned  reward  to  works :  And, 

1.  To  consideration,  conversion,  and  exercising 
ourselves  to  godliness. — "Because  he  considereth,  and 
turneth  away  from  his  transgressions,  <fec.,  he  shall 
surely  Uve,  he  shall  not  die.  When  the  wicked  man 
turneth  away  from  his  wickedness,  (fee,  he  shall  save 
his  soul  alive.  Wherefore  turn  yourselves  and  Uve  ye. 
Ex  rcise  thyself  unto  godliness,  for  it  is  profitable  unto 
all  things ;  having  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
and  that  which  is  to  come." 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  127 

2.  To  doing  the  will  of  God.—"  He  that  does  the 
will  of  my  Father  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  He  that  does  the  will  of  God  abideth  for 
ever.  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is 
my  brother  and  sister,  i.  e.,  the  same  is  an  heir  of  God, 
and  a  joint  heir  with  Christ." 

3.  To  confessing  Christ,  and  calling  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord.—''  With  the  mouth  confession  is 
made  to  salvation.  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  confess 
me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my  Fa- 
ther :  but  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him 
will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father,  Whosoever  shall 
call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved." 

4.  To  self  denial — "  If  thy  hand  offend  thee,  cut 
it  off:  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  hfe  maimed,  than 
having  two  hands  to  go  to  hell,  &c.  And  if  thine  eye 
offend  thee,  pluck  it  out :  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  with  one  eye,  than  having 
two  eyes  to  be  cast  into  hell  fire.  There  is  no  man 
that  hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  (fcc,  for  my  sake  and 
the  gospel's,  but  he  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold  now, 
and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal  life.  He  that  loseth 
his  hfe  for  my  sake  shall  find  it,  &c.  He  that  hateth 
his  life  in  this  world,  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal." 
And  our  Lord  supposes  that  by  "gaining  the  world"  a 
man  may  "  lose  his  own  soul :"  for,  according  to  the 
covenant  of  grace,  even  reprobates  are  not  totally  lost 
till  they  make  themselves  sons  of  perdition,  hke  Judas, 
i.  e.,  till  they  personally  and  absolutely  "  lose  their  own 
souls"  and  heaven  by  their  personal  and  obstinate  pur- 
suit of  worldly  things. 

5.   To  diligent  labour  and  earnest  endeavours. — 
«  O  man  of  God,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.     Work  out 


128  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

your  own  salvation.  Labour  for  the  meat  that  endureth 
to  everlasting  life.  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence, 
for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life.  In  so  doing  thou 
shalt  save  thyself  Narrow  is  the  gate  that  leads  to 
life.  Strive  to  enter  in.  The  violent  press  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  take  it  by  force." 

6.  To  keeping  the  commandments. — "  Blessed  are 
they  that  do  his  commandments,  (fee,  that  they  may 
enter  through  the  gates  into  the  city,  i.  e.,  into  heaven. 
There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any  thing  that 
worketh  abomination.  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,* 
keep  the  commandments.  Thou  hast  answered  right; 
this  do  and  thou  shalt  live.  There  is  one  Lawgiver, 
who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy :  [some  of  whose 
laws  run  thus :]  Forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven. 
Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 
With  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged. 
For  he  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy,  that  hath 
showed  no  mercy.  Blessed  are  the  peace  makers,  for 
they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God,  [and,  of  course, 
the  heirs  of  the  kingdom.]  The  King  shall  say  unto 
them,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,'  inherit  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  you,  for  I  was  hungry  and  ye  gave 
me  meat,  <fec.  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  to 
the  Lord,  knowing  that  of  the  Lord  ye  shall  receive 
the  reward  of  the  inheritance :  but  he  that  does  wrong, 
shall  receive  for  the  wrong  which  he  hath  done,  and 
there  is  no  respect  of  persons.  Be  ye  therefore  follow- 
ers of  God  as  dear  children,  <fcc.,  for  this  ye  know,  that 
.no  whoremonger,  &c.,  hath  any  inheritance  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.     The  works  of  the  flesh  are  mani- 

*  See  the  excellent  comment  of  our  Church  upon  these  words  of 
our  Lord,  Fourth  Check. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  129 

fest,  which  are  these,  adultery,  (fcc,  of  which  I  tell  you 
[believers]  that  they  who  do  such  things  shall  not  in- 
herit the  kingdom  of  God." 

7.   To  running,  fighting,  faithfully  laying  up 

treasure  in  heaven,  and  feeding  the  flock  of  God. 

"  They  who  run  in  a  race  run  all ;  but  one  receiveth 
the  prize :  so  run  that  you  may  obtain.  Now  they  are 
temperate  in  all  things  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown ; 
but  we  an  incorruptible.  I  therefore  so  run,  fight,  and 
bring  my  body  into  subjection,  [that  I  may  obtain,]  lest 
I  myself  should  be  cast  away ;"  i.  e.,  should  not  be  ap- 
proved of,  should  be  rejected,  and  lose  my  incorruptible 
crown.  "Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  lay  hold  on 
eternal  life.  Lay  up  treasure  in  heaven.  Make  your- 
selves friends  with  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness, 
that  when  you  fail  on  earth  they  may  receive  you  into 
everlasting  habitations.  Charge  them  who  are  rich 
that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  lay- 
ing up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  foundation  against 
the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal 
life.  Feed  the  flock  of  God,  (fcc,  being  examples  to 
the  flock,  and  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear, 
ye  shall  receive  the  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 
8.  To  love  arid  charity.— ''Though  I  have  all 
faith,  <fcc.,  and  have  no  charity,  I  am  nothing.  She 
[the  woman]  shall  be  saved,  (fcc,  if  they  [womankind] 
continue  in  faith  and  charity.  Whosoever  hateth  his 
brother  hath  not  eternal  life.  He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  abideth  in  death.  We  know  we  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  If 
any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus,  let  him  be  anathema. 
The  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to 
them  that  love  him." 


180  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

9.  To  a  godly  walk. — "  There  is  no  condemnation 
to  them,  (fcc,  that  walk  not  after  the  flesh.  As  many 
as  walk  according  to  this  rule,  mercy  [be,  or  will  be]  on 
them.  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  [of  good  works,  Matt. 
Vj  15,]  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 
The  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory,  and  no  good  thing 
will  he  withhold  from  them  that  walk  uprightly.  Many 
[fallen  believers]  walk,  &c.,  enemies  of  the  cross  of 
Christ,  whose  end  is  destruction." 

10.  To  persevering  watchfulness,  faithfulness, 
prayer,  ^c. — "He  that  endureth  unto  the  end,  the 
same  shall  be  saved.  Be  faithful  unto  death,  and  I 
will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life.  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  endureth  temptation,  for  when  he  is  tried  he  shall 
receive  the  crown  of  life.  Because  thou  hast  kept  the 
word  of  my  patience,  I  will  also  keep  thee,  <fcc.  To 
him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my 
throne.  To  him  that  keepeth  my  words  unto  the  end, 
d&c.,  will  I  give  the  morning  star.  Take  heed  to  your- 
selves, (fcc,  watch  and  pray  always,  that  ye  may  be 
counted  worthy  to  escape,  (fcc,  and  to  stand  before  the 
Son  of  man."     In  a  word, 

11.  To  patient  continuance  in  inortifying  the 
deeds  of  the  body,  and  in  well  doing. — "  If  ye  live 
after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die ;  but  if  ye  through  the  Spi- 
rit mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live.  For 
he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  per- 
dition ;  but  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the 
Spirit  reap  life  everlasting.  And  let  us  not  be  weary  in 
well  doing,  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  [not  if  we 
faint  or  not,  but]  if  we  faint  not.  He  that  reapeth  re- 
oeiveth  wages  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal.  Ye 
have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  131 

life."  God,  at  the  revelation  of  his  righteous  judgment, 
"will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds :  eter- 
nal life  to  them  who,  by  patient  continuance  in  well 
doing,  seek  for  glory.  Anguish  upon  every  soul  of 
man  that  does  evil,  &c.,  but  glory  to  every  man  that 
worketh  good,  <fec.,  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons 
with  God." 

Is  it  not  astonishing,  that  in  sight  of  so  many  plain 
scriptures  the  SoUfidians  should  still  ridicule  the  pass- 
port of  good  works,  and  give  it  to  the  winds  as  a  "paper 
"  kite  ?"  However,  if  the  preceding  texts  do  not  appear 
sufficient,  I  can  send  another  volley  of  gospel  truths  to 
show  that  the  initial  salvation  of  believers  themselves 
may  be  lost  through  bad  works. 

I  know  thy  works,  (fee,  so  then,  "  because  thou  art 
lukewarm,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  "  What 
doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  [nc,  any  one, 
and  two  verses  below,  any  one  of  you,  James  ii,  14, 
16]  say  he  hath  faith,  and  hath  not  works,"  [now  ?] 
"  Can  faith  save  him,  &c.  ?  Faith  if  it  hath  not  works 
is  dead,  being  alone.  Grudge  not  one  against  another, 
brethren,  lest  ye  be  condemned."  [In  the  original  it  is 
the  same  word  which  is  rendered  damned  Mark  xvi, 
16.]  "  If  we  suffer,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him.  If 
we  [believers]  deny  him,  he  will  also  deny  us.  Add  to 
your  faith  virtue,  &c.,  charity,  &c.  If  ye  do  these 
things  ye  shall  never  fall,  for  so  an  entrance  shall  be 
ministered  unto  you  abundantly  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  Lord.  It  had  been  better  for  them  that 
have  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the  world  through  the 
knowledge  of  our  Saviour,  [i.  e.,  for  believei-s,]  not  to 
have  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than  after  they 
have  known  it  to  turn  from  the  holy  coaunindment 


132  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

delivered  unto  them.  Every  tree  that  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  cut  down  and  cast  into  the  fire. 
Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit  my  Father 
taketh  away.  Abide  in  me,  <fec.  If  a  man  abide  not 
in  me  [by  keeping  my  commandments  in  faith]  he  is 
cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered ;  and  [he  shall 
share  the  fate  of  the  branches  that  have  really  belonged 
to  the  natural  vine,  and  now  bear  no  more  fruit]  men 
gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are 
burned."  The  fig  tree  in  the  Lord's  moral  vineyard  is 
cut  down  for  not  bearing  fruit.  "Him  that  sinneth 
I  will  blot  out  of  my  book.  Some,  having  put  away  a 
good  conscience,  concerning  faith  have  made  shipwreck. 
Such  as  turn  back  to  their  own  wickedness,  the  Lord 
shall  lead  them  forth  with  the  evil  doers.  Toward  thee 
goodness,  if  [by  continuing  in  obedience]  thou  continue 
in  his  goodness,  otherwise  thou  shalt  be  cut  off." 

Again  :  "  For  the  wickedness  of  their  doings  I  will 
drive  them  out  of  my  house,  I  will  love  them  no  more. 
Some  are  already  turned  aside  after  Satan,  having 
damnation  because  they  have  cast  off  their  first  faith  ; 
the  faith  that  works  by  love ;  the  mystery  of  faith  kept 
in  a  pure  conscience ;  the  faith  unfeigned  [that  the 
apostle  couples  with]  a  good  conscience ;"  the  faith  that 
is  made  perfect  by  works  ;  the  faith  that  cries,  like  Ra- 
chel, Give  me  children,  give  me  good  works,  or  else  I  die  ; 
— the  faith  that  faints  without  obedience,  and  actually 
dies  by  bad  works ;  the  following  scriptures  abundantly 
proving  that  faith,  and  consequently  the  just  who  live 
by  faith,  may  die  by  bad  works. 

"  When  a  righteous  man*  doth  turn  from  his  right- 

*  That  this  is  spoken  of  a  tnily  righteous  man,  i.  e.,  of  a  believer, 
appears  from  the  following  reasons :  (1.)  The  righteous  here  men. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  133 

eousness  and  commit  iniquity,  (fee,  he  shall  die  in  his 
sin,  and  his  righteousness  which  he  has  done  shall  not 
be  remembered,"  Ezek.  iii,  20.  Again:  "When  the 
righteous,  &c.,  does  according  to  all  the  abominations 
that  the  wicked  man  does,  shall  he  live  ?  All  his  right- 
eousness that  he  has  done  shall  not  be  mentioned :  in 
his  trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in  his  sin  that 
he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die,"  Ezek.  xviii,  24. 
Once  more:  "The  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall 
not  deliver  him  in  the  day  of  his  transgression,  (fee. 
'  When  I  say  to  the  righteous  that  he  shall  surely  Uve  ;* 
if  he  trust  to  his  righteousness,  and  commit  iniquity,  he 
shall  die  for  it,"  Ezek.  xxxiii,  13. 

tioned  is  opposed  to  the  wicked  mentioned  in  the  context.  As 
surely  then  as  the  word  wicked  means  there  one  really  wicked,  so 
does  the  word  righteous  mean  here  one  truly  righteous.  (2.)  The 
righteous  man's  turning  from  his  righteousness  is  opposed  to  the 
wicked  man's  turning  from  his  iniquity.  If,  therefore,  the  righteous 
man's  righteousness  is  to  be^  understood  of  feigned  goodness,  so 
the  wicked  man's  iniquity  must  be  understood  of  feigned  iniquity. 
(3.)  The  crime  of  the  righteous  man  here  spoken  of  is  turning  from 
his  righteousness :  but  if  his  righteousness  were  only  a  hypocritical 
righteousness,  he  would  rather  deserve  to  be  commended  for  re- 
nouncing it ;  a  wicked,  sly  Pharisee,  being  more  odious  to  God  than 
a  barefaced  sinner,  who  has  honesty  enough  not  to  put  on  the  mask 
of  religion.  Rev.  iii,  15.  (4.)  Part  of  this  apostate's  punishment 
will  consist  in  not  having  the  righteousness  that  he  has  done  re- 
membered.  But  if  his  righteousness  is  a  false  righteousness,  or 
mere  hypocrisy,  the  divine  threatening  proves  a  precious  promise ; 
for  you  cannot  please  a  hypocrite  better  than  by  assuring  him  that 
his  hypocrisy  shall  never  be  remembered.  What  a  pity  is  it,  that  to 
defend  our  mistakes  we  should  fix  egregious  nonsense  and  gross 
contradiction  upon  the  only  wise  God ! 

*  These  words  are  another  indubitable  proof  that  the  righteous 
here  mentioned  is  a  truly  righteous  person  ;  as  the  holy  and  true 
God  would  never  say  to  a  wicked  Pharisee,  that  he  shall  surely  live. 


134  BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHEIl. 

It  seems  that  God,  foreseeing  the  Sohfidians  would 
be  hard  of  belief,  notwithstanding  the  great  ado  they 
make  about  faith,  condescended  to  their  infirmity,  and 
kindly  spoke  the  same  thing  over  and  over ;  for  setting 
again  the  broad  seal  of  heaven  to  the  truth  that  chiefly 
guards  the  second  gospel  axiom,  he  says  for  the  fourth 
time,  "  When  the  righteous  turneth  from  his  righteous- 
ness and  committeth  iniquity,  he  shall  even  die  thereby : 
but  if  the  wicked  turn  from  his  wickedness,  and  do  that 
which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  live  thereby,"  Ezek. 
xxxiii,  18,  19. 

If  Ezekiel  be  not  allowed  to  be  a  competent  judge, 
let  Christ  himself  be  heard  :  "  Then  his  Lord  said  unto 
him,  O  thou  wicked  servant,  I  forgave  thee  all  that 
debt,  (fee. :  shouldst  not  thou  also  have  had  compassion 
on  thy  fellow  servant,  even  as  I  had  pity  on  thee?  And 
his  Lord  was  wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the  tor- 
mentors," Matt,  xviii,  26,  &c. 

All  the  preceding  scriptures  are  thus  summed  up  by 
our  Lord,  Matt,  xxv,  46,  "  These  [the  persons  who 
have  not  finally  done  the  works  of  faith]  shall  go  into 
everlasting  punishment ;  but  the  righteous  [those  who 
have  done  them  to  the  end,  at  least  from  the  time  of 
their  reconversion,  if  they  were  backsliders]  shall  go 
into  eternal  hfe."  This  doctrine  agrees  perfectly  with 
the  conclusion  of  the  sermon  on  the  mount :  "  Whoso- 
ever heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  I 
will  liken  him  to  a  wise  man,  who  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  fool- 
ish man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand."  Nay,  this 
is  Christ's  explicit  doctrine.  No  words  can  be  plainer  than 
these :  "  They  that  are  iu  their  graves  shall  hear  his 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  135 

voice  and  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good  unto 
the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil 
unto  the  resurrection  of  condemnation,"  John  v,  29. 
All  creeds,  therefore,  hke  that  of  St.  Athanasius,  and  all 
faith,  must  end  in  practice.  This  is  a  grand  article  of 
what  might,  with  peculiar  propriety,  be  called  the 
catholic  faith — the  faith  that  is  common  to,  and  essen- 
tial under  all  the  dispensations  of  the  everlasting  gospel, 
in  all  countries  and  ages :  "  the  faith  which,  except  a 
man  beUeve  faithfully,"  i.  e.,  so  as  to  work  righteousness, 
like  the  good  and  faithful  servant,  "he  cannot  be 
saved." 


SECTION  IL 

AN  ANSWER  TO  THE  MOST   PLAUSIBLE  OBJECTIONS  OF   THE 
SOLIFIDIANS  AGAINST  THIS  DOCTRINE. 

As  some  difficulties  probably  rise  in  the  reader's  mind 
against  the  preceding  doctrine,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
produce  them  in  the  form  of  objections,  and  to  answer 
them  more  fully  than  I  have  yet  done. 

I.  Objection.  "All  the  scriptures  that  you  have 
produced  are  nothing  but  descriptions  of  those  who  shall 
be  saved  or  danmed :  you  have  therefore  no  ground 
to  infer  from  such  texts,  that  in  the  great  day  our  works 
of  faith  shall  be  rewarded  with  an  eternal  Ufe  of  glory, 
and  our  bad  works  punished  with  eternal  death." 

Answer.  Of  all  the  paradoxes  advanced  by  mis- 
taken divines,  your  assertion  is  perhaps  the  greatest. 
You  have  no  more  ground  for  it  than  I  have  for  saying 
that  England  is  a  lawless  kingdom,  and  that  all  the 
promises  of  rewards,  and  threatenings  of  punishments, 


136  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

Stamped  with  the  authority  of  the  legislative  power,  are 
no  legal  sanctions.  If  I  seriously  raaintained  that  the 
bestowing  of  public  bounties  upon  the  inventors  of  use- 
ful arts ;  that  the  discharge  of  some  prisoners,  and  the 
condemnation  of  others,  according  to  the  statutes  of  the 
realm,  are  things  which  take  place  without  any  respect 
to  law ;  that  the  acts  of  parliament  are  mere  descrip- 
tions of  persons,  which  the  government  rewards,  ac- 
quits, or  punishes,  without  any  respect  to  worthiness, 
innocence,  or  demerit ;  and  that  the  judges  absolve  or 
condemn  criminals  merely  out  of  free  grace  and  free 
wrath ;  if  I  maintained  a  paradox  so  dishonourable  to 
the  government  and  so  contrary  to  common  sense, 
would  you  not  be  astonished?  And  if  I  gave  the 
name  of  Papist  to  all  that  did  not  receive  my  error  as 
gospel,  would'you  not  recommend  me  to  a  dose  of  Dr. 
Monro's  hellebore  ?  And  are  they  much  wiser  who  fix 
the  foul  blot  upon  the  divine  government,  and  make 
the  Protestants  believe  that  the  sanctions  of  the  King 
of  ikngs,  and  the  judicial  dictates  of  him  who  judges 
the  world  in  righteousness,  are  not  laws  and  sentences, 
but  representations  and  descriptions  ? 

A  comparison  will  show  the  frivolousness  of  your 
objection.  There  is,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  statute  that 
condemns  a  highwayman  to  be  hanged,  and  allows  a 
reward  of  forty  pounds  to  the  person  that  takes  him. 
A  counsellor  observes  that  this  statute  was  undoubtedly 
made  to  deter  people  from  going  upon  the  highway, 
and  to  encourage  the  taking  of  robbers.  "Not  so," 
says  a  lawyer  from  Geneva,  "though  robbers  are 
hanged  according  to  law,  yet  the  men  that  take  them 
are  not  legally  rewarded ;  the  sum  mentioned  in  the 
statute  is  given  them  of  free,  gratuitous,  undeserved, 


BEArriES  OF  FLETCHER.  137 

unmerited,  distinguishing  grace."  Nay,  says  the  coun- 
sellor, if  they  do  not  deserve  the  forty  pounds  more 
than  other  people,  that  sum  might  as  well  be  bestowed 
upon  the  highwaymen  themselves  as  upon  those  who 
take  them  at  the  hazard  of  their  life.  "And  so  it 
might,"  says  the  Geneva  lawyer ;  "  for  although  poor, 
blind  legalists  make  people  believe  that  the  promissory 
part  of  the  law  was  made  to  excite  people  to  exert 
themselves  in  the  taking  of  robbers,  yet  we  know  bet- 
ter at  Geneva ;  and  I  inform  you  that  the  clause  you 
.speak  of  is  only  a  description  of  certain  men,  for  whom 
the  government  designs  the  reward  of  forty  pounds 
gratis."  The  admirers  of  Geneva  logic  clap  their 
hands  and  cry  out,  "  Well  said  !  down  with  legality  !" 
but  an  English  jury  smiles  and  cries,  "Down  with 
absurdity !"   (See  Fletchefs  Works,  vol.  i,  p.  273.) 

II.  Objection.  "  You  confound  our  title  to,  with 
our  meetness  for  heaven,  two  things  which  we  carefully 
distinguish.  Our  title  to  heaven,  being  solely  what 
Christ  has  done  and  suffered  for  his  people,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  either  our  holiness  or  good  works ;  but  our 
meetness  for  heaven  supposes  hoUness,  if  not  good  works. 
Therefore  God's  unconverted,  sinful  people,  who  have, 
in  Christ,  a  complete  title  to  heaven,  by  right  of  'fin- 
ished salvation,'  shall  all  be  made  meet  for  heaven  in 
the  day  of  his  power." 

Answer  1.  I  understand  you,  and  so  does  Mr.  Ful- 
some. You  insinuate  that,  till  the  day  you  speak  of 
comes,  unconverted  sinners  and  backsliders  may  in- 
dulge themselves  like  the  servant  mentioned  in  the 
gospel,  who  said.  My  master  delayeth  his  coming,  and 
began  to  drink  with  the  drunken ;  but  alas !  instead  of 
"  a  day  of  power"  he  saw  a  day  of  vengeance,  and  his 


138  BEAUTIES  OF  FLBTCHER. 

"  finished  salvation,"  so  called,  ended  in  weeping,  wail- 
ing, and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

2.  Your  distinction  is  contrary  to  the  Scriptures, 
which  represent  all  impenitent  workers  of  iniquity  as 
having  a  full  title  to  hell  according  to  both  law  and 
gospel;  so  far  are  the  oracles  of  God  from  supposing 
that  some  workers  of  iniquity  have  a  full  title  to  heaven, 
absolutely  independent  on  the  obedience  of  faith. 

3.  It  is  contrary  to  reason ;  for  reason  dictates  that 
whosoever  has  a  full  title  to  a  punishment,  or  to  a  reward, 
is  fully  meet  for  it.  Where  is  the  difference  between 
saying  that  a  murderer  is  fully  meet  for,  or  that  he  has 
a  full  title  to  the  gallows  ?  If  a  palace  richly  furnished 
was  bestowed  upon  the  most  righteous  man  in  the 
kingdom,  and  you  were  the  person,  would  it  not  be 
absurd  to  distinguish  between  your  title  to,  and  your 
meetness  for  that  recompense?  Or  if  the  king,  in 
consequence  of  a  valuable  consideration  received  from 
the  prince,  had  promised  a  coronet  to  every  swift  runner 
in  England,  next  to  the  prmce's  interposition  and  his 
majesty's  promise,  would  not  your  running  well  be  at 
once  your  title  to  and  meetness  for  that  honour?  And 
is  not  this  the  case  with  respect  to  the  incorruptible 
crowns  reserved  in  heaven  for  those  who  so  run  that 
they  may  obtain  ? 

4.  Your  distinction  draws  after  it  the  most  horrid 
consequences :  for  if  a  full  title  to  heaven  may  be  sepa- 
rated from  a  meetness  for  the  lowest  place  in  heaven, 
it  necessarily  follows  that  Solomon  had  a  full  title  to 
heaven  when  he  worshipped  Ashtaroth ;  and  the  in- 
cestuous Corinthian  when  he  defiled  his  father's  bed ; 
in  flat  opposition  to  the  dictates  of  every  man's  con- 
science, (if  you  except  Mr.  Fulsome  and  his  fraternity.) 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  139 

It  follows  that  St.  Paul  told  a  gross  untruth  when  he 
said,  "  This  ye  know,  that  no  idolater  and  no  unclean 
person  hath  any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
and  of  God."  In  a  word,  it  follows  that  behevers, 
"  sanctified  with  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  who  draw 
back  to  perdition,"  (such  as  the  apostates  mentioned 
Heb.  X,  29,)  may  have  no  title  to  heaven  in  all  their 
sanctifying  faith;  while  some  impenitent  murderers, 
like  David  and  Manasses,  have  a  perfect  title  to  it  in 
all  their  crimes  and  unbelief. 

5.  This  is  not  all.  Our  Lord's  mark,  "  By  their 
Truits  ye  shall  know  them,"  is  absolutely  wrong  if  you 
are  right :  for  your  distinction  abolishes  the  grand  cha- 
racteristic of  the  children  of  God  and  those  of  the  devil, 
which  consists  in  not  committing  or  committing  iniquity, 
in  doing  or  not  doing  righteousness,  according  to  these 
plain  words  of  St.  John,  "  He  that  committeth  sin  is  of 
the  devil.  In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest, 
and  the  children  of  the  devil.  Whosoever  does  not 
righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that  loveth  not 
[much  less  he  that  murders]  his  brother,"  1  John  iii, 
8, 10.  Thus  the  Lord's  sacred  enclosure  is  broken 
down,  bis  sheepfold  becomes  a  fold  for  goats,  a  dog- 
kennel,  a  swine-stye.  Nay,  for  what  you  know,  all 
bloody  adulterers  may  be  "  sheep  in  wolves'  clothing ;" 
while  all  "  those  that  have  escaped  the  pollution  that  is 
in  the  world"  may  only  be  "  wolves  in  sheep's  cloth- 
ing ;"  it  mattering  not,  with  regard  to  the  goodness  of 
our  title  to  heaven,  whether  "  filthiness  to  Belial"  or 
"  holiness  to  the  Lord"  be  written  upon  our  foreheads. 
O,  sir,  how  much  more  dangerous  is  your  scheme  than 
that  of  the  primitive  Babel  builders  !  They  only  brought 
on  a  confusion  of  the  original  language ;  but  your  doc- 


140  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

trine  confounds  light  and  darkness,  promises  and  threat- 
enings,  the  heirs  of  heaven  and  those  of  hell,  the  seed 
of  the  woman  and  that  of  the  serpent. 

6.  As  to  your  intimation  that  hohness  is  secured  by 
teaching  that  God's  people  shall  absolutely  be  made 
willing  to  forsake  their  sins,  and  to  become  righteous 
in  the  day  of  God's  power,  that  so  they  may  have  a 
meetness  for,  as  well  as  a  title  to  heaven ;  it  drags  after 
it  this  horrid  consequence :  the  devil's  people,  '•  in  the 
day  of  God's  power,"  shall  absolutely  be  made  willing 
to  forsake  their  righteousness,  that  they  may  have  a 
meetness  for,  as  well  as  a  title  to  hell.  A  bitter  reverse 
this  of  your  "  sweet  gospel !" 

To  conclude.  If  by  your  distinction  you  only  want 
to  insinuate  that  Christ  is  the  grand  and  properly  meri- 
torious procurer  of  our  salvation,  from  first  to  last,  and 
that  the  works  of  faith  are  only  a  secondaiy,  instru- 
mental, evidencing  cause  of  our  final  salvation,  you 
mean  just  as  I  do.  But  if  you  give  the  world  to  under- 
stand that  election  to  eternal  glory  is  unconditional,  or, 
which  comes  all  to  one,  that  no  sin  can  invalidate  our 
title  to  heaven ;  from  the  preceding  observations  it  ap- 
pears that  you  deceive  the  simple,  make  Christ  the 
minister  of  sin,  and  inadvertently  poison  the  church 
with  the  rankest  Antinomianism. 

III.  Objection.  "  You  call  the  works  of  Christ  the 
primary  and  properly  meritorious  cause,  and  our  works 
of  faith  the  secondary  and  instrumental  cause  of  our 
eternal  salvation.  But  according  to  your  doctrine,  our 
works  should  be  called  the  first  cause,  and  Christ's  work 
the  second :  for  you  make  the  final  success  of  Christ's 
work  to  depend  on  our  work,  which  is  manifestly  set- 
ting our  performances  above  those  of  the  Redeemer." 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  141 

Answer  1.  When  a  gardener  affirms  that  he  shall 
have  no  crop  unless  he  dig  and  set  his  garden,  does  he 
manifestly  set  his  work  above  that  of  the  God  of  nature  7 
And  when  we  say  that  "  we  shall  not  reap  final  salva- 
tion, if  we  do  not  work  out  our  salvation,"  do  we  exalt 
ourselves  above  the  God  of  grace  ? 

2.  Whether  our  free  agency  turns  the  scale  for  life 
or  death,  to  all  eternity  Christ  shall  have  the  honour  of 
having  died  to  bestow  an  initial  hfe  of  grace  even  upon 
those  who  choose  death  in  the  error  of  their  ways,  and 
to  have  made  them  gracious  and  sincere  offers  of  an 
eternal  Ufe  of  glory.  In  this  sense,  then,  Christ's  work 
cannot  be  rendered  ineffectual;  it  being  his  absolute 
decree  that  the  word  of  his  grace  shall  be  the  savour 
of  life  to  obedient  free  agents,  and  the  savour  of  death 
to  the  disobedient.  Therefore,  if  we  will  not  have  the 
eternal  benefit  of  his  redeeming  work,  we  cannot  take 
from  him  the  eternal  honour  of  having  shed  his  blood 
even  for  those  who  tread  it  under  foot,  and  who  "  bring 
upon  themselves  swift  destruction  by  denying  the  I^ord 
that  bought  them." 

3.  Christ  is  not  dishonoured  by  the  doctrine  that  re- 
presents the  effect  of  the  greater  wheel  as  being  thus  in 
part  suspended  upon  the  turning  of  the  less.  The  light 
of  the  sun  shines  in  vain  for  me  if  I  shut  my  eyes. 
Life  is  a  far  nobler  gifl  than  food.  I  can  give  my 
starving  neighbour  bread,  but  I  cannot  give  him  hfe. 
Nevertheless,  the  higher  wheel  stops,  if  the  inferior  is 
quite  at  a  stand :  he  must  die  if  he  has  no  nourish- 
ment. Thus,  by  God's  appointment,  the  preservation 
of  all  the  first  born  of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  depended 
upon  the  sprinkling  of  a  lamb's  blood ;  the  life  of  all 
them  that  were  bitten  by  the  fiery  serpents  was  sus- 


142  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

pended  on  a  look  toward  the  brazen  serpent ;  and  that 
of  Rahab  and  her  friends  hung,  if  I  may  so  speak,  on 
a  scarlet  thread.  Now,  if  God  did  not  dishonour  his 
wisdom  when  he  made  the  life  of  so  many  people  to 
depend  upon  those  seemingly  insignificant  works ;  and 
if  he  continues  to  make  the  life  of  all  mankind  depend 
upon  breathing ;  is  it  reasonable  to  say  that  he  is  dis- 
honoured by  his  own  doctrine,  which  suspends  our 
eternal  salvation  upon  the  works  of  faith  ? 

4.  Your  objection  can  be  retorted.  Most  Calvinists 
grant  that  our  justification  in  the  day  of  conversion 
depends  upon  believing.  Thus  the  Rev.  Mr.  Madan, 
in  his  sermon  on  James  ii,  24,  (p.  18,)  says,  "  Though 
the  Lord  Jesus  has  merited  our  justification  before  God, 
yet  we  are  not  actually  justified,  till  he  be  received  into 
the  heart  by  faith,  and  rested  on,"  &c.  Therefore,  in 
the  day  of  conversion,  that  great  minister  being  judge, 
our  justification  is  suspended  on  the  work  which  he 
calls  "  receiving  Christ,"  or  "  resting  on  him."  And 
how  much  more  may  our  eternal  salvation  be  suspended 
on  faith  and  works ;  i.  e.,  on  resting  upon  Christ  and 
working  righteousness ! 

5.  This  is  not  all.  Both  Mr.  Madan  and  Mr.  Hill 
call  faith  the  instrumental  cause  of  our  justification, 
and  every  body  knows  that  the  eflfect  is  always  sus- 
pended on  the  CAUSE.  Now,  if  so  great  an  eflfect  as  a 
sinner's  present  justification  may  be  suspended  upon  the 
single  CAUSE  of  faith,  why  may  not  a  believer's  eternal 
justification  be  suspended  upon  the  double  cause  of 
faith  and  its  works  ?  In  a  word,  why  must  Mr.  Wesley 
be  represented  as  heterodox  for  insinuating  that  believ- 
ing and  working  instrumentally  cause  our  eternal 
justification ;   when  Mr.  Madan  wears  the  badge  of 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  143 

orthodoxy,  although  he  insinuates  that  believing  instru- 
mentally  causes  our  justification  ? 

If  Mr.  Madan  say  that  he  allows  faith  to  be  an  in- 
strumental CAUSE,  on  account  of  its  being  the  gift  of 
God  by  which  we  receive  Christ ;  I  answer,  that  we 
allow  the  work  of  faith  to  be  an  instrumental  cause, 
because  it  springs  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  consti- 
tutes our  hkeness  to  Christ,  and  our  evangelical  right- 
eousness ;  a  righteousness  this  which  Christ  came  into 
the  world  to  promote.    "  For  God  sending  his  Son,  &c., 
condemned  sin  in  the  flesh,  that  the  righteousness  of 
the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,"  i.  e.,  who  walk  in  good  works. 
If  it  is  asserted  that  there  can  be  but  one  instrumental 
cause  of  our  salvation,  that  is,  faith ;  I  appeal  to  reason, 
which  dictates  that  Christian  faith  implies  a  variety  of 
causes,  such  as  preaching  Christ,   and   hearing  him 
preached :  for  faith  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by 
the  word  of  God.     This  argument,  therefore,  carries  its 
own  answer  along  with  it. 

6.  To  conclude:  Mr.  Madan,  in  the  above-quoted 
sermon,  (p.  16.)  says  with  great  truth :— "  Christ  and 
faith  are  not  one  and  the  same  thing ;  how  then  can 
we  reconcile  the  apostle  with  himself,  when  he  says,  in 
one  place,  we  are  justified  by  Christ ;  and  in  another, 
we  are  justified  by  faith  ?  This  can  only  be  done  by 
having  recourse  to  the  plain  distinction  which  the  Scrip- 
tures afl!brd  us  in  considering  Christ  as  the  meritorious 
cause,  and  iaith  as  the  instrumental  cause,  or  that  by 
which  the  meritorious  cause  is  applied  unto  us,  so  that 
we  are  benefited  thereby."  Now  all  our  heresy  consists 
in  applying  Mr.  Madan's  judicious  reasoning  to  all  the 
scriptures  that  guard  the  second  gospel  axiom,  thus: 


144  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

"  How  can  we  reconcile  the  apostle  with  himself,  when 
he  says,  in  one  place,  '  We  are  saved  by  Christ,'  and  in 
other  places,  '  We  are  saved  by  faith,  we  are  saved  by 
hope.  Work  out  your  own  salvation.  Confession  is 
made  to  salvation,'  &.C.,  for  Christ  and  faith,  Christ  and 
hope,  Christ  and  works,  Christ  and  making  confession, 
are  not  one  and  the  same  thing  ?  This  seeming  incon- 
sistency in  St.  Paul's  doctrine  vanishes  by  admitting  a 
plain  distinction  which  the  Scriptures  afford  us  :  that  is, 
(1.)  By  considering  Christ,  from  first  to  last,  as  the  pro- 
perly meritorious  cause  of  our  present  and  eternal  salva- 
tion. (2.)  By  considering  faith  as  the  instrumental 
cause  of  our  salvation  from  the  guilt  and  pollution  of 
sin  on  earth.  And,  (3.)  By  considering  the  works  of 
faith  not  only  as  the  evidencing  cause  of  our  justifica- 
tion in  the  great  day,  but  also  as  an  instrumental  cause 
of  our  continuing  in  the  life  of  faith ;  just  as  eating, 
drinking,  breathing,  and  such  works,  that  spring  from 
natural  life,  are  instrumental  causes  of  our  continuing 
in  natural  life."  Thus  faith  and  its  works  are  two 
inferior  causes,  whereby  the  properly  meritorious  cause 
is  so  completely  applied  to  obedient,  persevering  be- 
lievers, that  they  are  now,  and  for  ever  shall  be  bene- 
fited by  it.  As  I  flatter  myself  that  this  sixfold  answer 
satisfies  the  candid  reader,  I  pass  on  to  another  plausible 
objection. 

IV.  Objection.  "  Though  you  assert  that  from 
first  to  last  the  works  and  sufferings  of  Christ  are  the 
grand  and  properly  meritorious  cause  of  our  salvation  ; 
yet,  according  to  your  scheme,  man  having  a  life  of 
glory  upon  his  choice,  and  heaven  upon  working  out 
his  salvation,  the  honour  of  free  grace  is  not  secured. 
For,  after  all,  free  will  and  human  faithfulness,  or  un- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  145 

faithfulness,  turn  the  scale  for  eternal  salvation  or 
damnation." 

Answer.  1.  In  the  very  nature  of  things  we  are  free 
agents,  or  the  wise  and  righteous  God  would  act  incon- 
sistently with  his  wisdom  and  equity  in  dispensing  re- 
wards and  punishments.  If,  through  "  the  saving  grace 
of  God"  which  "  has  appeared  to  all  men,"  we  were  not 
again  endued  with  an  awful  power  to  "choose  Hfe," 
and  to  be  faithful,  it  would  be  as  injudicious  to  punish 
or  recompense  mankind  as  to  whip  a  dead  horse  for  not 
moving,  condemn  fire  for  burning,  or  grant  water  an 
'eternal  reward  for  its  fluidity.  2.  Were  I  ashamed  of 
my  moral  free  agency,  I  should  be  ashamed  of  the  noble 
power  that  distinguishes  me  from  the  brute  creation. 
I  should  be  ashamed  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  of 
Moses,  who  says,  "  Behold,  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to 
record,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  bless- 
ing and  cursing;  therefore  choose  life."  I  should  be 
ashamed  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of  Christ,  who 
complains,  "  You  will  not  come  unto  me  that  you  might 
have  life,"  i.  e.,  you  will  not  use  the  power  which  my 
preventing  grace  has  given  you,  that  you  might  live 
here  a  hfe  of  faith  and  hoUness,  and  be  hereafter  re- 
warded with  a  life  of  happiness  and  glory.  In  a  word, 
I  should  give  up  the  second  gospel  axiom,  and  tacitly 
reproach  my  Maker,  who  says,  "  Why  will  ye  die,  O 
house  of  Israel  ?  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  him  that  dieth ;  wherefore  turn  yourselves,  and 
live  ye." 

3.  To  convince  you  that  free  agency,  and  a  right 
use  of  it,  are  by  no  means  inconsistent  with  divine 
grace  and  genuine  humihty,  I  ask,  Did  not  God  endue 
our  first  parents  with  free  will?    Are  not  even  some 

7 


146  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

rigid  Calvinists  ashamed  to  deny  it?  If  free  will  in 
man  is  a  power  dishonourable  to  God,  did  not  our  wise 
Creator  mistake  when  he  pronounced  man  "  very  good," 
at  the  very  time  man  was  a  free  wilier  ?  For  how  could 
man  be  very  good  if  he  had  within  him  a  power  that 
necessarily  militates  against  the  honour  of  God,  as  the 
Calvinists  insinuate  free  will  does  ! 

4.  I  go  one  step  farther,  and  ask.  Did  God  ever  endue 
one  child  of  Adam  with  power  to  avoid  one  sin  ?  If  you 
say  no,  you  contradict  the  Scriptures,  your  own  con- 
science, and  the  consciences  of  all  mankind ;  you  fix 
the  blot  of  folly  on  all  the  judges  who  have  judicially 
punished  malefactors  with  death ;  and  when  you  insi- 
nuate that  the  Lawgiver  of  the  universe  will  send  all 
workers  of  iniquity  personally  into  hell  for  not  "  doing 
what  is  lawful  and  right  to  save  their  souls  alive,"  or 
for  not  avoiding  sin,  when  he  never  gave  them  the  least 
power  personally  so  to  do,  you  pour  almost  as  much 
contempt  upon  his  perfections  as  if  you  hinted  that  he 
will  one  day  raise  all  creeping  insects,  to  judge  them  ac- 
cording to  their  steps,  and  to  cast  into  a  place  of  torment 
as  many  as  did  not  move  as  swiftly  as  a  race-horse. 

If  you  answer  in  the  aflftrmative,  and  grant  that  God 
has  graciously  endued  one  child  of  Adam  with  power  to 
avoid  one  sin,  so  far  you  hold  free  will  as  well  as  Moses 
and  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  if  God  has  bestowed  free  will 
upon  one  child  of  Adam  with  respect  to  the  avoiding  of 
one  sin,  why  not  upon  two,  with  respect  to  the  avoiding 
of  two  sins?  Why  not  upon  all,  with  respect  to  the 
avoiding  of  all  the  sins  that  are  incompatible  with  the 
obedience  of  faith  ? 

5.  Again :  as  it  would  be  absurd  to  say  that  God 
gave  a  power  to  avoid  one  sin  only  to  one  child  of 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  147 

Adam ;  so  it  would  be  impious  to  suppose  God  gave 
him  this  power  that,  in  case  he  faithfully  used  it,  he 
should  necessarily  boast  of  it.  Pharisaic  boasting  is, 
then,  by  no  means  the  necessary  consequence  of  our 
moral  liberty,  or  of  a  proper  use  of  our  free  will.  Thus 
it  appears  that  your  specious  objection  is  founded  upon 
a  heap  of  paradoxes ;  and  that  to  embrace  free  wrath 
lest  we  should  not  make  enough  of  free  grace,  and  to 
jump  into  fatalism  lest  we  should  be  proud  of  our  free 
will,  is  not  less  absurd  than  to  prostrate  ourselves  before 
a  traitor  lest  we  should  not  honour  the  king,  and  to  run 
^  to  a  house  of  ill  fame  lest  we  should  be  proud  of  our 
chastity. 

6.  Our  doctrine  secures  the  honour  of  free  grace  as 
well  as  Calvinism.  You  will  be  convinced  of  it  if  you 
consider  the  following  articles  of  our  creed  with  respect 
to  free  grace :— (1.)  Before  the  fall,  the  free  grace  of  our 
Creator  gave  us  in  Adam  holiness,  happiness,  and  a 
power  to  continue  in  both.  (2.)  Since  the  fall,  the  free 
grace  of  our  Redeemer  indulges  us  with  a  reprieve,  an 
accepted  time,  a  day  of  visitation  and  salvation ;  in  a 
word,  with  a  better  covenant,  and  a  "  free  gift  that  is 
come  upon  all  men  unto  [initial]  justification  of  life," 
Rom.  v,  18.  (3.)  That  nothing  may  be  wanted  on 
God's  part,  the  free  grace  of  our  Sanctifier  excites  us  to 
make  a  proper  use  of  the  free  gift,  part  of  which  is 
moral  liberty.  (4.)  Thus  even  our  free  will  to  good 
is  all  of  creating,  redeeming,  and  sanctifying  grace. 
Therefore,  with  regard  to  that  glorious  power,  as  well 
as  to  every  other  talent,  we  humbly  ask,  with  St.  Paul, 
"  What  hast  thou,  that  thou  hast  not  received  7"  (5.) 
This  is  not  all :  we  are  commanded  to  "  account  the 
longsuffering  of  God  [a  degree  of]  salvation ;"  and  so 


148  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

it  is:  for  without  forcing,  or  necessarily  inclining  our 
will,  God's  providential  free  grace  disposes  a  thousand 
circumstances  in  such  a  manner  as  to  second  the  calls 
of  the  everlasting  gospel.  The  gracious  Preserver  of 
men  works  daily  a  thousand  wonders  to  keep  us  out 
of  the  grave,  and  out  of  hell.  A  thousand  wheels  have 
turned  ten  thousand  times,  in  and  out  of  the  church, 
to  bring  us  the  purest  streams  of  gospel  truth.  Count- 
less breathings  of  the  Spirit  of  grace  add  virtue  to  those 
streams ;  free  grace,  therefore,  not  only  prevents,  but 
also  in  numberless  ways  accompanies,  follows,  directs, 
encourages,  and  assists  us  in  all  the  works  of  our  sal- 
vation. 

And  yet,  while  God  thus  works  in  us,  as  the  God  of 
all  grace,  "  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure  ;" 
that  is,  while  he  thus  gives  us  the  faculty  to  will,  and 
the  power  to  do ;  and  while  he  secretly,  by  his  Spirit, 
and  publicly,  by  his  ministers  and  providences,  excites 
us  to  make  a  proper  use  of  that  faculty  and  power ; 
yet,  as  the  God  of  wisdom,  holiness,  and  justice,  he 
leaves  the  act  to  our  choice ;  thus  treating  us  as  ra- 
tional creatures,  whom  he  intends  wisely  to  reward,  or 
justly  to  punish,  according  to  their  works,  and  not  ac- 
cording to  his  own. 

Hence  it  appears  that  we  go  every  step  of  the  way 
with  our  Calvinist  brethren  while  they  exalt  Christ  and 
free  grace  in  a  rational  and  Scriptural  manner ;  and 
that  we  refuse  to  follow  them  only  when  they  set  Christ 
at  naught  as  a  prophet,  a  lawgiver,  a  judge,  and  a  king, 
under  pretence  of  extolling  him  as  a  priest ;  or  when 
they  put  wanton  free  grace  and  unrelenting  free  wrath 
in  the  place  of  the  genuine  free  grace  testified  of  in  the 
Scriptures. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER,  149 

V.  Objection.  "  One  more  diflSculty  remains :  if  I 
freely  obey  the  gospel  and  am  saved ;  and  if  my  neigh- 
bour freely  disobeys  it  and  is  damned,  what  makes  me 
to  differ  from  him?  Is  it  not  my  free  obedience  of 
faith?" 

Answer.  Undoubtedly.  And  his  free  disobedience 
makes  him  differ  from  you  ;  or  it  would  be  very  absurd 
judicially  to  acquit  and  reward  you  rather  than  him, 
according  to  your  w^rks.  And  it  would  be  strange 
duplicity  to  condemn  and  punish  him  rather  than  you 
in  a  day  of  judgment,  after  the  most  solemn  protesta- 
tions that  equity  and  impartiaUty  shall  dictate  the 
Judge's  sentence. 

As  to  the  difficulty  arising  from  St.  Paul's  question, 
1  Cor.  iv,  7,  "  Who  maketh  thee  to  differ  ?"  to  what  T 
have  said  about  it  in  the  preceding  sermon,*  I  add: 
1.  According  to  the  covenant  of  works,  "  all  fall  short 
of  the  glory  of  God."  And  when  any  one  asks,  with 
respect  to  the  law  of  innocence,  "  Who  makes  thee  to 
differ  ?"  the  proper  answer  is,  "  There  is  no  difference : 
every  mouth  must  be  stopped :  all  the  world  is  guilty 
before  God :  enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy  servant, 
O  Lord."  But,  according  to  the  covenant  of  grace,  he 
that  freely  believes  and  obeys  in  the  strength  of  free 
grace  undoubtedly  makes  himself  to  differ  from  him 
that,  by  obstinate  disobedience,  "  does  despite  to  the 
Spirit  of  grace."  If  this  point  be  given  up,  the  Diana 
and  the  Apollo,  or  rather  the  Apollyon,  of  the  Antino- 
mians  (I  mean  wanton  free  grace  and  merciless  free 
wrath)  are  set  up  for  ever.     However, 

2.  If  the  question,  "  Who  maketh  thee  to  differ?"  be 
asketl  with  respect  to  the  number  of  our  talents,  the 
*  Fletcher's  Works,  vol.  i,  p.  479. 


150  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

proper  answer  is,  "  God's  distinguishing  grace  alone 
maketh  us  to  differ."  And  that  this  is  the  sense  which 
the  apostle  had  in  view  is  evident  from  the  context. 
He  had  before  reproved  the  Corinthians  for  "saying 
every  one,  I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  of  Apollos,"  <fec. ;  and 
now  he  adds,  "  These  things  I  have  in  a  figure  trans- 
ferred to  myself  and  to  Apollos,  that  ye  might  learn  in 
us  not  to  think  [of  gifted,  popular  men,  or  of  yourselves] 
above  that  which  is  written,  that  po  one  of  you  be  puffed 
up  for  one  against  another :  for  who  maketh  thee  to 
differ  ?"  Why  is  thy  person  gi-aceful  ?  And  why  art 
thou  naturally  an  eloquent  man,  hke  Apollos,  while  thy 
brother's  speech  is  rude,  and  his  bodily  presence  weak 
and  contemptible,  like  mine  ?    But, 

3.  If  you  ask,  "Who  maketh  thee  to  differ?"  with 
respect  to  the  improvement  or  non-improvement  of  our 
gifts  and  graces :  if  you  inquire  whether  God  necessi- 
tates some  to  disbelieve,  that  they  may  necessarily  sin 
and  be  damned ;  while  he  necessitates  others  to  believe, 
that  they  may  necessarily  work  righteousness  and  be 
saved:  I  utterly  deny  the  last  question,  and  in  this 
sense  St.  Paul  answers  his  own  misapplied  question 
thus :  "  Be  not  deceived  :  what  a  man  [not  what  God] 
soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap ;"  perdition  if  he  sow  to 
the  flesh,  and  eternal  life  if  he  sow  to  the  Spirit.  Nor 
am  I  either  afraid  or  ashamed  to  second  him,  by  saying, 
upon  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  that,  in  the  last-mentioned 
sense.  We  make  ourselves  to  differ.  And  Scripture, 
reason,  conscience,  the  divine  perfections,  and  the  trump 
of  God,  which  will  soon  summon  us  to  judgment,  testify 
that  this  reply  stands  as  firm  as  one  half  of  the  Bible, 
and  the  second  gospel  axiom  on  which  it  is  immoveably 
founded. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  151 

Nay,  there  is  not  a  promise  or  a  threatening  in  the 
Bible  that  is  not  a  proof  of  our  Lawgiver's  want  of 
wisdom,  or  of  our  Judge's  want  of  equity,  if  we  are  not 
graciously  endued  with  a  capacity  to  make  ourselves 
differ  from  the  obstinate  violators  of  the  law  and  de- 
spisers  of  the  gospel, — that  is,  if  we  are  not  free  agents. 
There  is  not  an  exhortation,  a  warning,  nor  an  entreaty 
in  the  sacred  pages  that  is  not  a  demonstration  of  the 
penman's  folly,  or  of  the  freedom  of  our  will.  In  a 
word,  there  is  not  a  sinner  justly  punished  in  hell,  nor 
a  believer  wisely  rewarded  in  heaven,  that  does  not  in- 
directly say  to  all  the  world  of  rationals :  "  Though  the 
God"  of  grace  draws  thee  to  obedience,  yet  it  is  with 
"  the  bands  of  a  man."  For,  after  all,  he  "  leaves  thee 
in  the  hand  of  thy  counsel,  to  keep  the  commandments, 
and  perform  acceptable  obedience  if  thou  wilt.  Before 
man  is  life  and  death,  and  whether  him  liketh  shall  be 
given  him,"  Ecclus.  xv,  14,  <fec. 

But,  although  your  obedience  of  faith  makes  you  to 
differ  from  your  condemned  neighbour,  you  have  no 
reason  to  reject  the  first  gospel  axiom,  and  to  indulge 
a  boasting*  contrary  to  faith  and  free  grace :  for  your 

•  There  is  a  twofold  glorying :  the  one  Pharisaic  and  contrary  to 
faith  :  of  this  St.  Paul  speaks,  where  he  says,  "  Boasting  is  excluded, 
&c.,  by  the  law  of  faith,"  Rom.  iii,  27.  The  other  evangelical  and 
agreeable  to  faith,  since  it  is  a  believer's  holy  triumph  in  God,  re. 
suiting  from  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience.  Concerning  it  the 
apostle  says,  "  Let  every  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall 
he  have  rejoicing  [boasting]  in  himself  alone,  and  not  in  another," 
Gal.  vi,  4.  [The  word  in  the  original  is  Kavxtjoig  in  one  passage, 
and  Kavxvfict  in  the  other.]  These  seemingly  contrary  doctrines  are 
highly  consistent ;  their  opposition  answering  to  that  of  the  gospel 
axioms.  The  first  axiom  allows  of  no  glorying  but  in  Christ,  who 
has  alone  fulfilled  the  law  of  works,  or  the  terms  of  the  first  cove- 
nant: but  the  second  axiom  allows  obedient  believers  an  humble 


152  BEAUTIES  or  FLETCHER. 

Christian  faith,  which  is  the  root  of  your  obedience,  is 
peculiarly  the  gift  of  God ;  whether  you  consider  it  as 
to  its  precious  seed,  ("  the  word  nigh ;")  as  to  its  glorious 
object,  (Christ  and  the  truth ;)  as  to  the  means  by  which 
that  object  is  revealed,  (such  as  preaching  and  hearing ;) 
as  to  the  opportunities  and  faculties  of  using  those 
means,  (such  as  life,  reason,  &c. ;)  or  as  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace,  whose  assistance  in  this  case  is  so  important 
that  he  is  called  "  the  Spirit  of  faith."  And  yet  that 
Spirit  does  not  act  irresistibly ;  all  believers  unnecessa- 
rily and  freely  yielding  to  it,  and  all  unbelievers  unne- 
cessarily and  freely  resisting  it.  So  far  only  does  the 
matter  turn  upon  free  will.  Thus  it  appears,  that 
although  the  act  of  faith  is  ours,  we  are  so  much  in- 
debted to  free  grace  for  it,  that  believers  can  no  more 
boast  of  being  their  own  saviours,  because  they  daily 
believe  and  work  in  order  to  their  final  salvation,  than 
they  can  boast  of  being  their  own  preservers,  because 
they  daily  breathe  and  eat  in  order  to  their  continued 
preservation. 

On  the  other  hand,  although  your  condemned  neigh- 
bour's disobedience  makes  him  differ  from  you,  he  has 

Kavxvf^Oi  "  glorying"  or  "  rejoicing,"  upon  their  personally  fulfilling 
the  law  of  faith,  or  the  gracious  terms  of  the  second  covenant. 
2  Cor.  i,  12.  This  rejoicing  answers  to  what  St.  Paul  calls  the 
"  witness  of  our  own  spirit,"  or  "  the  testimony  of  a  good  con 
science  ;"  which,  next  to  the  witness  of  the  word  and  Spirit  concern 
ing  God's  mercy  and  Christ's  blood,  is  the  ground  of  a  Christian's 
confidence.  "  Beloved,  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then  have  W6 
confidence  toward  God,  &c.,  because  we  keep  his  commandments," 
1  John  iii,  21,  22.  And  yet,  astonishing !  this  blessed  rejoicing,  so 
strongly  recommended  by  St.  Paul  and  St.  John,  who,  one  would 
think,  knew  something  of  the  gospel,  is  now  represented  by  some 
modern  evangelists  as  the  quintessence  of  Pharisaism. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  153 

no  reason  lo  reject  the  second  gospel  axiom,  and  to 
exculpate  himself  by  charging  heaven  with  capricious 
partiality  and  horrid  free  wrath :  because  God,  whose 
mercy  is  over  all  his  works,  and  who  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  graciously  bestowed  a  talent  of  free  grace  upon 
him  as  well  as  upon  you,  according  to  one  or  another 
of  the  divine  dispensations.  For  the  royal  master, 
mentioned  in  the  gospel,  gave  a  pound  to  the  servant 
that  buried  it,  as  well  as  to  him  that  gained  ten  pounds 
by  occupying  till  his  lord  came. 

"  But,  upon  that  footing,  what  becomes  of  distin- 
guishing gr3.ce?"  If  by  "distinguishing  grace"  you 
mean  Calvinistic  partiality,  I  answer.  It  must  undoubt- 
edly sink,  together  with  its  inseperable  partner,  uncon- 
ditional reprobation,  into  the  pit  of  error,  whence  they 
ascended  to  fill  the  church  with  contentions,  and  the 
world  with  infidels.  But  if  you  mean  Scriptural  dis- 
tinguishing grace,  that  is,  the  "  manifold  wisdom  of 
God,"  which  makes  him  proceed  gradually,  and  admit 
a  pleasing  variety  in  the  works  of  grace,  as  well  as  in 
the  productions  of  nature ; — if  you  mean  his  good  plea- 
sure to  give  the  heathens  one  talent,  the  Jews  two,  the 
Papists  tliree,  the  Protestants  four ;  or  if  you  mean  the 
different  methods  which  he  uses  to  call  sinners  to  re- 
pentance, such  as  his  familiar  expostulation  with  Cain: 
his  wonderful  warning  of  Lot's  sons-in-law :  his  rous- 
ing King  Saul  by  the  voice  of  Samuel,  and  Saul  of 
Tarsus  by  the  voice  of  Christ:  (Samuel  and  Christ 
coming,  or  seeming  to  come  from  the  invisible  world 
for  that  awful  purpose :)  his  audibly  inviting  Judas  and 
the  rich  ruler  to  follow  him,  promising  the  latter  hea- 
venly treasure  if  he  would  give  his  earthly  possessions 
to  the  poor :  his  shocking,  by  preternatural  earthquakeei, 
7* 


154  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

the  consciences  of  the  Philippian  jailer  and  the  two 
malefactors  that  suffered  with  him:  his  awakening 
Ananias,  Sapphira,  and  thousands  more  by  the  wonders 
of  the  day  of  pentecost,  when  Lydia  and  others  were 
called  only  in  the  common  way :  if  you  mean  this  by 
"distinguishing  grace,"  we  are  agreed.  For  grace  dis- 
played in  as  distinguishing  a  manner  as  it  was  toward 
Capernaum,  Chorazin,  and  Bethsaida,  greatly  illustrates 
our  Lord's  doctrine :  "  Of  him  to  whom  little  is  given, 
little  shall  be  required ;  but  much  shall  be  required  of 
them  that  have  received  much  ;"  the  equality  of  God's 
way  not  consisting  in  giving  to  all  men  a  like  number 
of  talents,  any  more  than  making  them  all  archangels ; 
but  in  treating  them  all  equally,  according  to  the  vari- 
ous editions  of  the  everlasting  gospel,  or  law  of  liberty ; 
and  according  to  the  good  or  bad  uses  they  have  made 
of  their  talents,  whether  they  had  few  or  many. 

To  return  to  your  grand  objection  :  you  suppose  (and 
this  is  probably  the  ground  of  your  mistake)  that  when 
a  deliverance,  or  a  divine  favour,  turns  upon  something 
■which  we  may  do,  or  leave  undone,  at  our  option,  God 
is  necessarily  robbed  of  his  glory.  But  a  few  queries 
will  easily  convince  you  of  your  mistake.  When  God 
had  been  merciful  to  Lot  and  his  family,  not  looking 
back  made  all  the  difference  between  him  and  his  wife; 
but  does  it  follow  that  he  claimed  the  honour  of  his  nar- 
row escape  ?  Looking  at  the  brazen  type  of  Christ  made 
some  Israelites  differ  from  others  that  died  of  the  bite 
of  the  fiery  serpents ;  but  is  this  a  sufficient  reason  to 
conclude  that  the  healed  men  had  not  sense  to  distin- 
guish between  primary  and  secondary  causes,  and 
that  they  ascribed  to  their  looks  the  glory  due  to 
God    for   graciously    contriving   the    means  of  their 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  165 

cure?  One  of  your  neighbours  has  hanged,  and  an- 
other has  poisoned  himself;  so  that  not  hanging  your- 
self, and  taking  wholesome  food,  has  so  far  made  the 
difference  between  you  and  them :  but  can  you  reason- 
ably infer  that  you  do  not  Uve  by  divine  bounty,  and 
that  I  rob  the  Preserver  of  men  of  his  glory,  when  I 
affirm  that  you  shall  surely  die  if  you  do  not  eat,  or  if 
you  take  poison  ? 

Permit  me  to  make  you  sensible  of  your  mistake  by 
one  more  illustration.  An  anticalvinist,  who  observes 
.  that  God  has  suspended  many  of  his  blessings  upon 
industry,  dihgently  ploughs,  sows,  and  weeds  his 
field.  A  fatalist  over  the  way,  lest  free  grace  should 
not  have  all  the  glory  of  his  crop,  does  not  turn*  one 
clod,  and  expects  seed  to  drop  from  the  clouds  into  fur- 
rows made  by  an  invisible  plough  on  a  certain  day, 
which  he  calls  "  a  day  of  God's  power."  When  har- 
vest comes,  the  one  has  a  crop  of  wheat,  and  the  other 

*  This  is  not  spoken  of  pious  Calvinists ;  for  some  of  them  are 
remarkably  dihgent  in  good  works.  They  are  Solifidians  by  halves ; 
— in  principle,  but  not  in  practice.  Their  works  outshine  their  er- 
rors.  I  lay  nothing  to  their  charge  but  inattention,  prejudice,  and 
glaring  inconsistency.  I  compare  them  to  diligent,  good-natured 
druggists,  who,  among  many  excellent  remedies,  sell  sometimes 
arsenic.  They  would  not  for  the  world  take  it  themselves,  or  poi- 
son their  neighbours ;  but  yet  they  freely  retail  it,  and  in  so  doing 
they  are  inadvertently  the  cause  of  much  mischief.  Mr.  Fulsome, 
for  example,  could  tell  which  of  our  gospel  ministers  taught  him 
that  good  works  are  dung,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  eternal  sal. 
vation.  He  could  inform  us  who  lulled  him  asleep  in  his  sins  with 
the  syren  songs  of  "  unconditional  election,"  and  "  finished  salva- 
tion,  in  the  full  extent  of  the  word ;"  that  is,  he  could  let  us  know 
who  gave  him  his  killing  dose  ;  and  numbers  of  Deists  could  tell  us 
that  a  bare  taste  or  smell  of  Calvinism  has  made  them  loathe  the 
genuine  doctrines  of  grace,  just  as  tasting  or  smelling  a  tainted  par- 
tridge  has  for  ever  turned  some  people's  stomachs  against  partridge. 


156  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

a  crop  of  weeds.  Now,  although  industry  alone  has 
made  the  difference  between  the  two  fields,  who  is 
most  likely  to  give  God  the  glory  of  a  crop,  the  Solifi- 
dian  farmer  who  reaps  thistles ;  or  the  laborious  hus- 
bandman who  has  joined  works  to  his  faith  in  divine 
Providence,  and  joyfully  brings  his  sheaves  home,  say- 
ing, as  St.  Paul,  "  By  divine  bounty  I  have  planted  and 
Apollos  has  weeded,  but  God  has  given  the  increase, 
which  is  all  in  all  ?" 


SECTION  III. 

SOME  REFLECTIONS  UPON  THE  UNREASONABLENESS  OF 
THOSE  WHO  SCORN  TO  WORK  WITH  AN  EYE  TO  THE 
REWARD  WHICH  GOD  OFFERS  TO  EXCITE  US  TO  OBE- 
DIENCE. 

Flattering  myself  that  the  preceding  answers 
have  removed  the  reader's  prejudices,  or  confirmed  him 
in  his  attachment  to  genuine  free  grace,  I  shall  con- 
clude this  essay  by  some  reflections  upon  the  pride  or 
prejudices  of  those  who  scruple  working  witli  an  eye  to 
the  rewards  that  God  offers  with  a  view  to  proinote  the 
obedience  of  faith. 

"  If  heaven,  (say  such  mistaken  persons,)  if  the  en- 
joyment of  God  in  glory  be  the  reward  of  obedience, 
and  if  you  work  with  an  eye  to  that  reward,  you  act 
from  self,  the  basest  of  all  motives.  Love,  and  not 
self  interest,  sets  us,  true  believers,  upon  action.  We 
work  from,  gratitude  and  not  for  profit ;  from  life* 

*  The  reader  is  desired  to  observe  that  we  recommend  work- 
ing from  life  and  gratitude,  as  well  as  our  opponents.  Life  and 
thankfulness  are  two  important  springs  of  action,  which  we  use  as 
well  as  they.  We  maintain,  that  even  those  who  "  have  a  name  to 
live,  and  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  cannot  be  saved  without 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  167 

and  not  for  life.  To  do  good  with  an  eye  to  a  reward, 
though  that  reward  should  be  a  crown  of  Hfe,  is  to  act 
as  a  mercenary  wretch,  and  not  as  a  duteous  child  or  a 
faithful  servant." 

This  specious  error,  zealously  propagated  by  Moli- 
nos,  Lady  Guion,  and  her  illustrious  convert.  Arch- 
bishop Fenelon,  (though  afterward  renounced  by  him,) 
put  a  stop  to  a  great  revival  of  the  power  of  godliness 
abroad  in  the  last  century ;  and  it  has  already  struck  a 
fatal  blow  at  the  late  revival  in  these  kingdoms.  I 
reverence  and  love  many  that  contend  for  this  senti- 
ment ;  but  my  regard  for  the  truth  overbalancing  my 
respect  for  them,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  oppose  their 
mistake,  as  a  pernicious  refinement  of  Satan  trans- 
formed into  an  angel  of  light.  I  therefore  attack  it  by 
the  following  arguments : — 

1.  This  doctrine  makes  us  "wise  above  what  is 
written."  We  read  that  hunger  and  want  of  bread 
brought  back  the  prodigal  son.  His  father  knew  it, 
but  instead  of  treating  him  as  a  hired  servant,  he  en- 
tertained him  as  a  beloved  child. 

2.  It  sets  aside,  at  a  stroke,  a  considerable  part  of  the 
Bible,  which  consists  in  threatenings  to  deter  evil  work- 
ers, and  in  promises  to  encourage  obedient  believers : 
for  if  it  be  base  to  obey  in  order  to  obtain  a  promised 
reward,  it  is  baser  still  to  do  it  in  order  to  avoid  a  threat- 

"  strengthening  the  things  that  remain  and  are  ready  to  die ;"  and 
that  thankfulness  for  being  out  of  hell,  and  for  having  a  day  of  sal. 
vation  through  Christ,  should  be  strongly  recommended  to  the  chief 
of  sinners.  But  thankfulness  and  life  are  not  all  the  springs  neces- 
sary,  in  our  imperfect  state,  to  move  all  the  wheels  of  obedience ; 
and  we  dare  no  more  exclude  the  other  springs,  because  we  have 
these  two,  than  we  dare  cut  off  three  of  our  fingers,  because  we 
have  a  little  finger  and  a  thumb. 


158  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ened  punishment.  Thus  the  precious  grace  of  faith, 
so  far  as  it  is  exercised  about  divine  promises  and 
threatenings,  is  indirectly  made  void. 

3.  It  decries  "  godly  fear,"  a  grand  spring  of  action, 
and  preservative  of  holiness  in  all  free  agents  that  are 
in  a  state  of  probation  ;  and  by  this  mean  it  indirectly 
charges  God  with  want  of  wisdom,  for  putting  that 
spring  in  the  breast  of  innocent  man  in  paradise,  and 
for  perpetually  working  upon  it  in  his  word  and  by  his 
Spirit,  which  St.  Paul  calls  "the  spirit  of  bondage  unto 
fear;"  because  it  helps  us  to  believe  the  threatenings 
denounced  against  the  workers  of  iniquity,  and  to  fear 
lest  ruin  should  overtake  us  if  we  continue  in  our 
sins. 

If  ever  there  was  a  visible  church  without  spot  and 
wrinkle,  it  was  when  "  the  multitude  of  them  that  be- 
lieved were  of  one  heart  and  of  one  soul."  The 
worldly  minded ness  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  was  the 
first  blemish  of  the  Christian,  as  Achan's  covetousness 
had  been  of  the  Jewish  church  on  this  side  Jordan. 
God  made  an  example  of  them,  as  he  had  done  of 
Achan  ;  and  St.  Luke  observes  upon  it  that  "  great  fear 
came  upon  all  the  church ;"  even  such  fear  as  kept 
them  from  •'  falling  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief." 
Now  were  all  the  primitive  Christians  mean-spirited 
people,  because  they  were  filled  with  great  fear  of  being 
punished  as  the  first  backsliders  had  been,  if  they  apos- 
tatized 1  Is  it  a  reproach  to  righteous  Noah,  that  "  be- 
ing moved  with  fear  he  prepared  an  ark  for  the  saving 
of  his  house  ?"  And  did  our  Lord  legalize  the  gospel, 
when  "  he  began  to  say  to  his  disciples  first  of  all,  (fcc, 
I  say  unto  you,  my  friends,  be  not  afraid  of  them  that 
kill  the  body,  &c. ;  but  fear  him,  who,  after  he  hath 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  159 

killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell ;  yea,  I  say  unto 
you,  fear  him  ?"  Does  this  mean,  "  Be  mercenary : 
yea,  I  say  unto  you,  be  jnercenary  ?" 

4.  Hope  has  a  particular,  necessary  reference  to 
promises  and  good  things  to  come.  Excellent  things 
are  spoken  of  that  grace.  If  St.  Paul  says,  "  Ye  are 
saved  through  faith,"  he  says,  also,  "  We  are  saved 
by  HOPE."  Hence  St.  Peter  observes,  that  "  exceeding 
great  promises  are  given  to  us,  that  we  might  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature :"  and  St.  John  declares, 
''  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  him- 
self even  as  God  is  pure."  Now  hope  never  stirs,  but 
in  order  to  obtain  good  things  in  view :  a  motive  this 
which  our  gospel  refiners  represent  as  illiberal  and  base. 
Their  scheme  therefore  directly  tends  to  ridicule  and 
suppress  the  capital,  Christian  grace,  which  faith  guards 
on  the  left  hand,  and  charity  on  the  right. 

5.  Their  errors  spring  from  a  false  conclusion.  Be- 
cause it  is  mean  to  relieve  a  beggar  with  an  eye  to  a 
reward  from  him,  they  infer  that  it  is  mean  to  do  a 
good  work  with  an  eye  to  a  reward  from  God ;  not  con- 
sidering that  a  beggar  promises  nothing,  and  can  give 
nothing  valuable ;  whereas  the  Parent  of  good  pro- 
mises and  can  give  "eternal  life  to  them  that  obey 
him."  Their  inference  is  then  just  as  absurd  as  the 
following  argument :  "  I  ought  not  to  set  my  heart  upon 
an  earthly,  inferior,  transitory  good ;  therefore  I  must 
not  set  it  upon  the  chief,  heavenly,  permanent  good. 
It  is  foolish  to  shoot  at  a  wrong  mark ;  therefore  I  must 
not  shoot  at  the  right :  I  must  not  aim  at  the  very  mark 
which  God  himself  has  set  up  for  me  ultimately  to  level 
all  my  actions  at,  next  to  his  own  glory,  viz.,  the  en- 
joyment of  himself,  the  light  of  his  countenance,  the 


160  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

smiles  of  his  open  face,  which  make  the  heaven  of 
heavens." 

6.  God  says  to  Abraham,  and  in  him  to  all  believers, 
"  I  am  thy  exceeding  great  reward."  Hence  it  follows, 
that  the  higher  we  rise  in  holiness  and  obedience,  the 
nearer  we  shall  be  admitted  to  the  throne,  and  the  fuller 
enjoyment  we  shall  have  of  our  God  and  Saviour,  our 
reward  and  rewarder.  Therefore,  to  overlook  divine 
rewards,  is  to  overlook  God  himself,  who  is  "  our  great 
reward ;"  and  to  slight  "  the  life  to  come,"  of  which 
"  godliness  has  the  promise." 

7.  The  error  I  oppose  can  be  put  in  a  still  stronger 
light.  Not  to  strive  to  obtain  our  great  reward  in  full, 
amounts  to  saying,  "  Lord,  thou  art  beneath  my  aim 
and  pursuits:  I  can  do  without  thee,  or  without  so 
much  of  thee.  I  will  not  bestir  myself,  and  do  one 
thing  to  obtain  either  the  fruition,  or  a  fuller  enjoyment 
of  thy  adorable  self"  An  illustration  or  two,  short  as 
they  fall  of  the  thing  illustrated,  may  help  us  to  see 
the  great  impropriety  of  such  conduct.  If  the  king 
offered  to  give  all  officers,  who  would  distinguish  them- 
selves in  the  field,  his  hand  to  kiss,  and  a  commission 
in  his  guards,  that  he  might  have  them  near  his  per- 
son ;  would  not  military  gentlemen  defeat  the  intention 
of  this  gracious  offer,  and  betray  a  pecuhar  degree  of 
indifference  for  his  majesty,  if  in  the  day  of  battle  they 
would  not  stiike  one  blow  more  on  account  of  the  royal 
promise  ? 

Again :  when  David  asked.  What  shall  be  done  to 
him  that  killeth  the  giant?  and  when  he  was  in- 
formed that  Saul  would  give  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage; would  the  young  shepherd  have  showed  his 
regard  for  the  princess,  or  respect  for  the  monarch,  if  he 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  161 

had  said,  "  I  am  above  minding  rewards :  what  I  do,  I 
do  freely :  I  scorn  acting  from  so  base  a  motive  as  a 
desire  to  secure  the  hand  of  the  princess,  and  the  hon- 
our of  being  the  king's  son-in-law  ?"  Could  any  thing 
have  been  ruder  and  more  haughty  than  such  a 
speech  ?  And  yet,  O  see  what  evangelical  refinements 
have  done  for  us  !  We,  who  are  infinitely  less  before 
God  than  David  was  before  King  Saul ; — we,  worms 
of  a  day,  are  so  blinded  by  prejudice,  as  to  think  it  be- 
neath us  to  mind  the  offers  of  the  King  of  kings,  or  to 
,  strive  for  the  rewards  of  the  Lord  of  lords. 

"Wo  to  him  that  striveth  [in  generosity]  with  his 
Maker!  Let  the  potsherds  strive  thus  with  the  pot- 
sherds of  the  earth :  [but  let  not]  the  clay  say  to  him 
that  fashioneth  it,"  "  What  doest  thou  when  thou  stirrest 
me  up  to  good  works  by  the  promise  of  thy  rewards  ? 
Surely,  Lord,  thou  forgettest  that  the  nobleness  of  my 
mind,  and  my  doctrine  of  finished  salvation,  make  me 
above  running  for  a  reward,  though  it  should  be  for  a 
life  of  glory  and  thyself  Whatever  I  do  at  thy  com- 
mand, I  am  determined  not  to  demean  myself ;  I  will 
do  it  as  Araunah,  like  a  king."  What  depths  of  Anti- 
nomian  pride  may  be  hid  under  the  covering  of  our 
voluntary  humility ! 

8.  The  Calvinists  of  the  last  century,  in  their  lucid 
intervals,  saw  the  absolute  necessity  of  working  for 
heaven  and  heavenly  rewards.  We  have  a  good  prac- 
tical discourse  of  J.  Bunyan  upon  these  words,  "So  run 
that  you  may  obtain."  The  burden  of  it  is,  "  If  you 
will  have  a  heaven,  you  must  run  for  it."  Whence  he 
calls  his  sermon,  "  The  Heavenly  Footman ;"  and 
Matthew  Mead,*  a  staunch  Calvinist,  in  his  treatise  on 
•  As  a  proof  of  his  beinff  sound  in  the  doctrines  of  Calvinistic 


162  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

The  Good  of  Early  Obedience,  (p.  429,)  says,  with 
great  truth,  "  Maintain  a  holy,  filial  fear  of  God.  This 
is  an  excellent  preservative  against  apostacy.  '  By  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  men  depart  from  evil,'  says  Solomon, 
and  he  tells  you,  '  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  fountain 
of  hfe,  whereby  men  depart  from  the  snares  of  death ;' 
and  backsliding  from  Christ  is  one  of  the  great  snares 
of  death.  Think  much  of  the  day  of  recompense,  and 
of  the  glorious  reward  of  perseverance  in  that  day : 
'Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a 
crown  of  life.'  It  is  not  those  that  begin  well,  but  those 
who  end  well,  that  receive  the  crown.  It  is  not  mer- 
cenary service  to  quicken  ourselves  to  obedience  by  the 
hope  of  a  recompense.  Omnis  amor  mercedis  non 
est  mercenarius,  ^c.  David  said,  'I  have  hoped 
for  thy  salvation,  and  done  thy  commandments.'  He 
encouraged  himself  to  duty  by  the  hope  of  glory,  &.c. 

grace  and  confusion,  I  present  the  reader  with  the  following  pas. 
sage,  taken  from  the  same  book,  printed  in  London,  1683,  (p.  307  :) 
"A  believer  is  under  the  law  for  conduct,  but  not  for  judgment,  &c. 
It  is  the  guide  of  his  path,  but  not  the  judge  of  his  state.  The  be- 
liever  is  bound  to  obey  it,  but  not  to  stand  or  fall  by  it."  That  is, 
in  plain  English,  he  should  obey  it,  but  his  disobedience  will  never 
bring  him  under  condemnation,  and  hinder  him  to  stand  in  judg- 
ment.  "  It  is  a  rule  of  life,  &.c.,  and  therefore  it  obliges  believers  as 
much  as  others,  though  upon  other  motives,  &c. :  for  they  are  not 
to  expect  hfe  or  favour  from  it,  nor  fear  the  depth  and  rigour  that 
comes  by  it.  The  law  has  no  power  to  justify  a  believer,  or  con- 
demn  him,  and  therefore  can  be  no  rule  to  try  his  state  by."  In 
flat  opposition  to  the  general  tenor  of  the  Scriptures,  thus  summed 
up  by  St.  John :  "  In  this,"  namely,  committing  or  not  committing 
sin,  "  the  children  of  God  are  manifest,  and  the  children  of  the 
devil."  What  this  author  says  is  true,  if  it  be  understood  of  the 
Adamic  law  of  innocence ;  but  if  it  be  extended  to  St.  Paul's  law 
of  Christ,  and  to  St.  James'  law  of  liberty,  it  is  one  of  the  danger. 
ous  tenets  that-support  the  chair  of  the  Antinomian  •♦  man  of  sin." 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  163 

Hope  of  that  glorious  recompense  is  of  great  service  to 
quicken  us  to  perseverance.  And  to  the  same  end  does 
the  apostle  urge  it :  'Be  unmoveable,  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know 
that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.' " 

9.  When  voluntary  humihty  has  made  us  wise 
above  what  is  written  by  the  apostles  and  by  our  fore- 
fathers, it  will  make  us  look  down  with  contempt  from 
the  top  of  our  fancied  orthodoxy  upon  the  motives  by 
which  the  prophets  took  up  their  cross,  to  serve  God 
and  their  generation.  When  St.  Paul  enumerates  the 
works  of  Moses,  he  traces  them  back  to  their  noble 
principle,  faith  working  by  a  well  ordered  self  love :  (a 
love  this  which  is  inseparable  from  the  love  of  God  and 
man  ;  the  law  of  liberty  binding  us  to  love  our  neigh- 
bour as  ourselves,  and  God  above  ourselves.)  "He 
chose,"  says  the  apostle,  "  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God,  rather  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin,"  (fee.  But  why  ?  Because  he  was  above  looking 
at  the  prize?  Just  the  reverse.  Because  "he  had 
respect  to  the  recompense  of  reward,"  Heb.  xi,  26. 

10.  In  the  next  chapter  the  apostle  bids  us  to  take 
Christ  himself  for  our  pattern  in  the  very  thing  which 
our  gospel  refiners  call  mercenary  and  base :  "  Looking 
to  Jesus,"  says  he,  "  who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God."'  The 
noble  reward  this,  with  which  his  mediatorial  obedience 
was  crowned,  as  appears  from  these  words:  "He  be- 
came obedient  unto  death ;  wherefore  God  also  hath 
highly  exalted  him."  If  the  scheme  of  those  who  refine 
the  ancient  gospel  appears  to  me  in  a  peculiarly  unfa- 
vourable light,  it  is  when  I  see  them  impose  upon  the 


J  54  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

injudicious  admirers  of  unscriptural  humility,  and  make 
the  simple  believe  that  they  do  God  service  when  they 
indirectly  represent  Christ's  obedience  unto  death  as 
imperfect,  and  him  as  mercenary,  actuated  by  a  motive 
unworthy  of  a  child  of  God.     He  says,  "Every  one 
that  is  perfect  shall  be  as  his  master :"  but  we  (such  is 
our  consistency !)  loudly  decry  perfection,  and  yet  pre- 
tend to  a  higher  degree  of  it  than  our  Lord  and  Master ; 
for  he  was  not  above  "  enduring  the  cross  [for  the  joy  of] 
sitting  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God:' 
but  we  are  so  exquisitely  perfect  that  we  will  work 
gratis.     It  is  mercenary,  it  is  beneath  us  to  work  for 

glory!  - 

11.  I  fear  this  contempt  is  by  some  indirectly  pourea 
upon  the  Lord  of  glory  to  extol  the  spurious  free  grace 
which  is  sister  to  free  wrath ;  and  to  persuade  the  simple 
that  "  works  have  nothing  to  do  with  our  final  justifica- 
tion and  eternal  salvation  before  God."     A  dogma  this, 
which  is  as  contrary  to  reason  as  it  is  to  Scripture  and 
morality;  it  being  a  monstrous  imposition  upon  the 
credulity  of  Protestants  to  assert  that  works,  which  God 
himself  will  reward  with  final  justification  and  eternal 
salvation,  have  nothing  to  do  with  that  justification  and 
that  salvation  before  him :  just  as  if  the  thing  rewarded 
had  nothing  to  do  with  its  reward  before  the  rewarder  . 
12.  The  most  rigid  Calvinists  allow  that  St.  Paul  is 
truly  evangelical :  but  which  of  the  sacred  writers  ever 
spoke  greater  things  of  the  reward ableness  of  works 
than  he?    What  can  be  plainer,  what  stronger  than 
these  words,  which  I  miTst  quote  till  they  are  minded : 
''  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  to  the  Lord,  <fec., 
knowing  [i.  e.,  considering]  that  of  the  Lord  ye  shaU 
receive  the  reward  of  the  inheritance.     But  he  that 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  165 

doth  wrong,  shall  receive  for  the  wrong  which  he  hath 
done ;  for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons,"  Col.  iii,  23, 
&c.  Again :  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap :  for  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of 
the  flesh  reap  perdition  •  but  he  that  soweth  to  the 
Spirit,  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  everlasting  life,"  Gal. 
vi,  7,  8. 

Prom  those  scriptures  it  is  evident  that  doing  good  or 
bad  works  is  like  sowing  good  or  bad  seed ;  and  that 
going  to  heaven  or  hell  is  hke  gathering  what  we  have 
^own.  Now,  as  it  is  the  inadness  of  unbelievers  to 
sow  wickedness,  and  to  expect  a  crop  of  happiness  and 
glory ;  so  it  is  the  wisdom  of  believers  to  sow  righteous- 
ness, expecting  to  "  reap  in  due  time  if  they  faint  not." 
Nor  do  we  act  reasonably,  if  we  do  not  sow  more  or  less 
with  an  eye  to  reaping :  for  if  reaping  be  quite  out  of 
the  question  with  Protestants,  they  may  as  wisely  sow 
chafl^"  on  a  fallow  as  corn  in  a  ploughed  field.  Hence  I 
conclude  that  a  believer  may  obey,  and  that,  if  he  be 
judicious,  he  will  obey,  looking  both  to  Jesus  and  to  the 
rewards  of  obedience ;  and  that  the  more  we  can  fix 
the  ej^e  of  his  faith  upon  his  "  exceeding  great  reward, 
and  his  great  recompense  of  reward,"  the  more  he  will 
"abound  in  the  work  of  faith,  the  patience  of  hope,  and 
the  labour  of  love." 

13.  St.  Paul's  conduct  with  respect  to  rewards  was 
perfectly  consistent  with  his  doctrine.  I  have  already 
observed,  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians,  that  he  so  •'  ran 
and  so  fought  as  to  obtain  an  incorruptible  crown ;" 
and  it  is  well  known  that  in  the  Olympic  games,  to 
which  he  alludes,  all  ran  or  fought  with  an  eye  to  a 
prize,  a  reward,  or  a  crown.  But  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians  he  goes  still  farther;  for  he  represents  his 


166  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

running  for  a  crown  of  life,  his  pressing  after  rewards 
of  grace  and  glory,  as  the  whole  of  his  business.  His 
words  are  remarkable  :  "  This  one  thing  I  do ;  forget- 
ting those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth 
unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward  the 
mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus."  And  when  he  had  just  run  his  race  out,  he 
wrote  to  Timothy,  "  I  have  finished  my  course ;  hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  [as  for  a  conqueror]  a  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge, 
shall  give  me  at  that  day" — the  great  day  of  retribu- 
tion. As  for  St.  John,  when  he  was  perfected  in  love, 
we  find  him  as  "  mercenary"  as  St.  Paul ;  for  he  writes 
to  the  elect  lady,  and  to  her  believing  children  :  "  Look 
to  yourselves,  that  we  lose  not  those  things  w^hich  we 
have  wrought,  but  that  we  receive  a  full  reward." 

14.  When  I  read  such  scriptures,  I  wonder  at  those 
who  are  so  wrapt  up  in  the  pernicious  notion  that  we 
ought  not  to  work*  for  a  life  of  glory,  as  to  overlook 
even  the  "  crown  of  life,"  with  which  God  will  reward 
those  who  are  "  faithful  unto  death."  And  I  am  asto- 
nished at  the  remains  of  my  own  unbelief,  which  pre- 
vent my  being  always  ravished  with  admiration  at  the 
thought  of  the  rewards  offered  to  fire  my  soul  into 

*  Truth  is  so  great  that  it  sometimes  prevails  over  those  that  are 
prejudiced  against  it.  I  have  observed  that  Dr.  Crisp  himself,  in  a 
happy  moment,  bore  a  noble  testimony  to  undefiled  religion.  Take 
another  instance  of  it.  In  the  volume  of  the  Rev;  Mr.  Whitcfield's 
sermons,  taken  in  short  hand,  and  published  by  Gurney,  (p.  119,) 
that  great  preacher  says :  "  First  we  must  work  for  spiritual  life, 
AFTERWARD  FROM  it."  And  (pagcs  153,  154)  he  declares :  "  There 
are  numbers  of  poor  that  are  ready  to  perish ;  and  if  you  drop  some- 
thing to  them  in  love,  God  will  take  care  to  repay  you  when  you 
come  to  judgment,"     I  find  but  one  fault  with  this  doctrine.    The 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  167 

seraphic  obedience.  An  idle  country  fellow,  who  runs 
at  the  wakes  for  a  wretched  prize,  labours  harder  in  his 
sportive  race  than,  I  fear,  I  do  yet  in  some  of  my  prayers 
and  sermons.  A  sportsman,  for  the  pitiful  honour  of 
coming  in  at  the  death  of  a  fox,  toils  more  than  most 
professors  do  in  the  pursuit  of  their  corruptions.  How 
ought  confusion  to  cover  our  faces !  Let  those  that 
refine  the  gospel  glory  in  their  shame.  Let  each  of 
them  say,  "  I  thank  thee,  O  God,  that  I  am  not  Uke  a 
Papist,  or  like  that  Arminian,  who  looks  at  the  rewards 
.which  thou  hast  promised.  I  deny  myself,  and  take  up 
my  cross,  without  thinking  of  the  joy  and  rewards  set 
before  me,"  &c.  For  my  part,  I  desire  to  humble  my- 
self before  God,  for  having  so  long  overlooked  the  "  ex- 
ceeding great  reward,"  and  the  "  crown  of  life,"  promised 
to  them  that  obey  him  ;  and  my  thoughts  shall  be  ex- 
pressed in  such  words  as  these : — 

"  Gracious  Lord,  if  '  he  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in 
the  name  of  a  prophet  shall  have  a  prophet's  reward ;' 
if  'our  light  affliction,'  when  it  is  patiently  endured, 
'  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory :'  if  thou  hast  said,  '  Do  good  and  lend, 
hoping  for  nothing  again,  [from  man,]  and  your  reward 
shall  be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  the  children  of  the 
Highest:'  if  thou  animatest  those  who  are  persecuted 

first  of  those  propositions  does  not  guard  free  grace  so  well  as  Mr. 
Wesley's  Minutes  do.  We  should  always  intimate  that  there  is  no 
working  for  a  life  of  glory,  or  for  a  more  abundant  life  of  grace, 
but  from  an  initial  life  of  grace,  freelt  given  to  us  in  Christ  before 
any  working  of  our  own.  This  I  mention,  not  to  prejudice  the  reader 
against  Mr.  Whitefield,  but  to  show  that  I  am  not  so  prejudiced  in 
favour  of  works  as  not  to  see  when  even  a  Whitefield,  in  an  un- 
guarded expression,  leans  toward  them  to  the  disparagement  of  free 
grace. 


168  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

for  righteousness'  sake,  by  this  promissory  exhortation, 
'  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for  great  is  your  reward 
in  heaven :'  nay,  if  a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  given  in 
thy  name,  '  shall  in  no  wise  lose  its  reward  ;'  and  if  the 
least  of  thy  rewards  is  a  smile  of  approbation  ;  let  me  be 
ready  to  go  round  the  world,  shouldst  thou  call  me  to  it, 
that  I  may  obtain  such  a  recompense. 

"  Since  thou  hast  so  closely  connected  holiness  and 
happiness,  my  duty  and  thy  favours,  '  let  no  man  be- 
guile me  of  my  reward  in  a  voluntary  humiUty,'  nor 
suffer  me  to  be  '  carried  about  with  every  wdnd  of  doc- 
trine by  the  sleight  of  men,'  and  '  cunning  craftiness, 
whereby  they  he  in  wait  to  deceive.'    And  '  whatsoever 
my  hand  findeth  to  do,  help  me  to  do  it  with  all  my 
might ;'  not  only  lest  I  lose  my  reward,  but  also  lest  I 
have  not  '  a  full  reward  ;'  lest  I  lose  a  beam  of  the  light 
of  thy  countenance,  or  a  degree  of  that  pecuhar  likeness 
and  nearness  to  thee  with  which  thou  wilt  recompense 
those  who  excel  in  virtue.     So  shall  I  equally  avoid  the 
delusion  of  the  Pharisees,  who  expect  heaven  through 
their  faithless  works ;  and  the  error  of  Antinomians, 
who  hope  to  enter  into  thy  glory  without  the  passport 
of  the  works  of  faith. 

"  And  now.  Lord,  if  thy  servant  has  found  favour  in 
thy  sight,  permit  him  to  urge  another  request ;  so  far 
as  thy  wisdom,  and  the  laws  by  which  thy  free  grace 
works  upon  free  agents  will  permit,  incline  the  minds 
of  Papists  and  Protestants  to  receive  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  Let  not  especially  this  plain  testimony,  borne 
to  the  many  great  promises  which  thou  hast  made,  and 
to  the  astonishing  rewards  which  thou  offerest  them 
that  work  righteousness,  be  rejected  by  my  Calvinist 
brethren.     Keep  them  from  fighting  against  thy  good- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  169 

ness,  and  despising  their  own  mercies,  under  pretence 
of  fighting  against  '  Arminian  errors,'  and  despising 
'Pelagian  Checks  to  the  Gospel.'  And  make  them 
sensible  that  it  is  absurd  to  decry  in  word  the  ppe's 
pretensions  to  infallibility,  if,  by  an  obstinate  refusal  to 
'  review  the  whole  affair,'  and  to  weigh  their  supposed 
orthodoxy  in  the  balances  of  reason  and  revelation, 
they,  in  fact,  pretend  to  be  infaUible  themselves ;  and 
thus,  instead  of  one  Catholic  pontiff,  set  up  ten  thou- 
sand Protestant  popes. 

"  Thou  knowest.  Lord,  that  many  of  them  love  thee ; 
and  that,  though  they  disgrace  thy  gospel  by  their  doc- 
trinal pecuharities,  they  adorn  it  by  their  godly  conver- 
sation. O  endue  them  with  more  love  to  their  remon- 
strant brethren  !  Give  them  and  me  that  charity  which 
'  behaveth  not  itself  unseemly,'  which  '  rejoiceth  not  in' 
a  favourite  error,  '  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth,'  even  when 
it  is  advanced  by  our  opponents.  Thou  seest,  that  if 
they  decry  true  holiness  and  good  works  as  '  dung  and 
dross,'  it  is  chiefly  for  fear  thy  glory  should  be  obscured 
by  our  obedience.  Error,  transformed  into  an  angel  of 
light,  has  deceived  them,  and  they  think  to  do  thee 
service  by  propagating  the  deception.  O  gracious  God, 
pardon  them  this  wrong.  They  '  do  it  ignorantly  in 
unbelief;'  therefore  seal  not  up  their  mistake  with  the 
seal  of  thy  wrath.  Let  them  yet  '  know  the  truth,' 
and  let  the  truth  enlarge  their  hearts,  and  '  make  them 
free'  from  the  notion  that  thou  art  not  '  loving  to  every 
man'  during  '  the  day  of  salvation,'  and  that  there  is 
neither  mercy  nor  Saviour  for  the  most  of  their  neigh- 
bours, even  during  '  the  accepted  time.' 

"  Above  all.  Lord,  if  they  cannot  defend  their  mis- 
takes, either  by  argument  or  by  Scripture  quoted  ac- 

8 


170  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

cording  to  the  context  and  the  obvious  tenour  of  thy 
sacred  oracles,  give  them  more  wisdom  than  to  expose 
any  longer  the  Protestant  religion,  which  they  think  to 
defend ;  and  more  piety  than  to  make  the  men  of  the 
world  abhor  thy  gospel  and  blaspheme  thy  name,  as 
free  thinkers  are  daily  tempted  to  do,  when  they  see 
that  those  who  pretend  to  '  exalt  thee'  most  are,  of  all 
Protestants,  the  most  ready  to  disarm  thy  gospel  of  its 
sanctions ;  to  turn  thy  judicial  sentences  into  frivolous 
descriptions;  to  overlook  the  dictates  of  reason  and 
good  nature ;  and  to  make  the  press  groan  under  illo- 
gical assertions  and  personal  abuse ! 

"  Let  thy  servant  speak  once  more :  thou  knowest, 
O  Lord,  that  thy  power  being  my  helper,  I  would  choose 
to  die  rather  than  wilfully  to  depreciate  that  grace,  that 
free  grace  of  thine  which  has  so  Iqng  kept  me  out  of 
hell,  and  daily  gives  me  sweet  foretastes  of  heaven. 
And  now,  let  not  readers  of  a  Pharisaic  turn  mistake 
what  I  have  advanced  in  honour  of  the  works  of  faith, 
and  by  that  mean  build  themselves  up  in  their  self- 
righteous  delusion  and  destructive  contempt  of  thy 
merits :  help  them  to  consider,  that  if  our  works  are 
rewardable,  it  is  because  thy  free  grdce  makes  them  so ; 
thy  Father  having  mercifully  accepted  our  persons  for 
thy  sake,  thy  Holy  Spirit  having  gently  helped  our  in- 
firmities, thy  precious  blood  having  fuUy  atoned  for  our 
sins  and  imperfections,  thy  incessant  intercession  still 
keeping  the  way  to  the  throne  of  grace  open  for  us  and 
our  poor  performances.  Suffer  not  one  of  the  sons  of 
virtuous  pride,  into  whose  hands  these  sheets  may  fall, 
to  forget  that  thou  hast  annexed  '  the  reward  of  the 
inheritance'  to  the  assemblage  of  the  works  of  faith,  or 
to  '  patient  continuance  in  well  doing,'  and  not  to  one 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  171 

or  two  splendid  works  of  hypocrisy  done  just  to  serve-  a 
worldly  turn,  or  to  bribe  a  disturbed,  clamorous  con- 
science ;  and  enable  them  so  to  feel  the  need  of  thy 
pardon  for  past  transgression,  and  of  thy  power  for 
future  obedience,  that,  as  the  chased  hart  panteth  after 
the  water  brooks,  so  their  awakened  souls  may  long 
after  Christ,  in  whom  the  penitent  find  inexhaustible 
springs  of  righteousness  and  strength ;  and  to  whom, 
with  thee  and  thy  eternal  Spirit,  be  for  ever  ascribed 
praise,  honour,  and  glory,  both  in  heaven  and  upon 
-earth — praise  for  the  wonders  of  general  redemption, 
and  for  the  innumerable  displays  of  thy  free  grace  un- 
stained by  free  wrath — honour  for  Ijestowing  the  gra- 
cious reward  of  a  heavenly  salvation  upon  all  believers 
that  make  their  election  sure  '  by  patient  continuance 
in  well  doing'— and  glory  for  inflicting  the  just  punish- 
ment of  infernal  damnation  upon  all  that  neglect  so 
great  salvation,  and  to  the  end  of  the  accepted  time 
dare  thy  vengeance  by  obstinate  continuance  in  ill 
doing." 


CHAPTER  XL 
AN    ESSAY  ON  TRUTH. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Exceedingly  sorry  should  I  be  if  the  testimony 
which  I  have  borne  to  the  necessity  of  good  works 
caused  any  of  my  readers  to  do  the  worst  of  bad  works, 
that  is,  to  neglect  believing^  and  to  depend  upon  some 
of  the  external,  faithless  performances  which  conceited 
Pharisees  call  "  good  works ;"  and  by  which  they  ab- 


172  BBAtJTlES  OF  FLETCHER. 

surdly  think  to  make  amends  for  their  sins,  to  purchase 
the  divine  favour,  to  set  aside  God's  mercy,  and  to 
supersede  Christ's  atoning  blood.     Therefore,  lest  some 
unwary  souls,  going  from  one  extreme  to  the  other, 
should  so  unfortunately  avoid  Antinomianism  as  to  mn 
upon  the  rocks  which  are  rendered  famous  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  Pharisees,  I  shall  once  more  vindicate 
the  fundamental  anti-Pharisaic  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
faith :  I  say  once  more,  because  I  have  already  done  it 
in  my  guarded  sermon.     And  to  the  scriptures,  articles, 
and  arguments  produced  in  that  piece,  I  shall  now  add 
rational  and  yet  Scriptural  observations,  which,  together 
with  appeals  to  matter  of  fact,  will,  I  hope,  soften  the 
prejudices  of  judicious  moralists  against  the  doctrine  of 
faith,  and  reconcile  considerate  Solifidians  to  the  doc- 
trine of  works.     In  order  to  this,  I  design  in  general  to 
prove  that  true  faith  is  the  only  plant  which  can  pos- 
sibly bear  good  works ;  that  it  loses  its  operative  nature, 
and  dies,  when  it  produces  them  not;  and  that  it  as 
much  surpasses  good  works  in  importance  as  the  mo- 
tion of  the  heart  does  all  other  bodily  motions.    Inquire 
we  first  into  the  nature  and  ground  of  saving  faith. 


SECTION  I. 

A  PLAIN  DEFINITION  OF  SAVING  FAITH,  HOW  BELIEVING 
IS  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD,  AND  WHETHER  IT  IS  IN  OUR 
POWER   TO    BELIEVE. 

What  is  faith?  It  is  believing  heartily.  What  is 
saving  faith?  I  dare  not  say  that  it  is  "believing 
heartily  my  sins  are  forgiven  me  for  Christ's  sake ;"  for 
if  I  live  in  sin,  that  belief  is  a  destructive  conceit,  and 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  173 

not  saving  faith.  Neither  dare  I  say  that  "saving  faith 
is  only  a  sure  trust  and  confidence  that  Christ  loved  me, 
and  gave  himself  for  me  ;"*  for,  if  I  did,  I  should  damn 
almost  all  mankind  for  four  thousand  years.  Such 
definitions  of  saving  faith  are,  I  fear,  too  narrow  to  be 
just,  and  too  unguarded  to  keep  out  Solifidianism.  A 
comparison  may  convince  my  readers  of  it.  If  they 
desired  me  to  define  man,  and  I  said,  "  Man  is  a  ra- 
tional animal  that  lived  in  France  in  1774,"  would  they 
not  ask  me  whether  I  suppose  all  the  rational  animals 
that  lived  on  this  side  the  English  Channel  in  1773 
were  brutes?  And  if  you  desired  to  know  what  I 
mean  by  saving  faith,  and  I  replied,  It  is  a  supernatu- 
ral belief  that  Christ  has  actually  atoned  for  my  sins 
upon  the  cross :  would  you  not  ask  me  whether  Abra- 
ham, the  fether  of  the  faithful,  who  would  have  be- 
lieved a  lie  if  he  had  believed  this,  had  only  damning 
faith? 

To  avoid  therefore  such  mistakes ;  to  contradict  no 
scriptures ;  to  put  no  black  mark  of  damnation  upon 
any  man,  that  in  any  nation  "  fears  God  and  works 
righteousness;"  to  leave  no  room  for  Solifidianism ;  and 
to  present  the  reader  with  a  definition  of  faith  adequate 
to  "  the  everlasting  gospel,"  I  would  choose  to  say,  that 
"justifying  or  saving  faith  is  believing  the  saving  truth 
with  the  heart  unto  internal,  and  [as  we  have  opportu- 
nity] unto  external  righteousness,  according  to  our  light 

*  When  the  Church  of  England  and  Mr.  Wesley  give  us  particu- 
lar definitions  of  faith,  it  is  plain  that  they  consider  it  according  to 
the  Christian  dispensation ;  the  privileges  of  which  must  be  princi- 
pally insisted  upon  among  Christians ;  and  that  our  Church  and  Mr. 
Wesley  guard  faith  against  Antinomianism,  is  evident  from  their 
maintaining,  as  well  as  St.  Paul,  that  by  bad  works  we  lose  a  good 
conscience,  and  "  make  shipwreck  of  the  faith." 


174  BEAUTIES  OP  FLETCHER. 

and  dispensation."  To  St.  Paul's  words,  Rom.  x,  10, 1 
add  the  epithets  internal  and  external,  in  order  to  ex- 
clude, according  to  1  John  iii,  7, 8,  the  filthy  imputation 
under  which  fallen  believers  may,  if  we  credit  the  An- 
tinomians,  commit  internal  and  external  adultery,  men- 
tal and  bodily  murder,  without  the  least  reasonable 
fear  of  endangering  their  faith,  their  interest  in  God's 
favour,  and  their  inamissible  title  to  the  throne  of 
glory. 

But  "how  is  faith  the  gift  of  God?"  Some  persons 
think  that  faith  is  as  much  out  of  our  power  as  the 
lightning  that  shoots  from  a  distant  cloud ;  they  sup- 
pose that  God  drives  sinners  to  the  fountain  of  Christ's 
blood  as  irresistibly  as  the  infernal  legion  drove  the 
herd  of  swine  into  the  sea  of  Galilee ;  and  that  a  man 
is  as  passive  in  the  first  act  of  faith  as  Jonah  was  in 
the  act  of  the  fish,  which  cast  him  upon  the  shore. 
Hence  the  absurd  plea  of  many  who  lay  fast  hold  on 
the  horns  of  the  devil's  altar,  unbelief,  and  cry  out,  "We 
can  no  more  believe  than  we  can  make  a  world." 

I  call  this  an  absurd  plea  for  several  reasons: 
(1.)  It  supposes  that  when  "  God  commands  all  men 
everywhere  to  repent  and  to  believe  the  gospel,"  he 
commands  them  to  do  what  is  as  impossible  to  them  as 
the  making  of  a  new  world.  (2.)  It  supposes  that  the 
terms  of  the  covenant  of  grace  are  much  harder  than 
the  terms  of  the  covenant  of  works.  For  the  old  cove- 
nant required  only  perfect  human  obedience :  but  the 
new  covenant  requires  of  us  the  work  of  an  almighty 
God,  i.  e.,  believing;  a  work  this  which,  upon  the 
scheme  I  oppose,  is  as  impossible  to  us  as  the  creation 
of  a  world,  in  which  we  can  never  have  a  hand. 
(3.)  It  supposes  that  the  promise  of  salvation  being 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  175 

suspended  upon  believing,  a  thing  as  impracticable  to 
us  as  the  making  of  a  new  world,  we  shall  as  infallibly 
be  damned  if  God  do  not  believe  for  us,  as  we  should 
be  if  we  were  required  to  make  a  world  on  pain  of 
damnation,  and  God  would  not  make  it  in  our  place. 
(4.)  It  supposes  that  beUeving  is  a  work  which  belongs 
to  Gtxl  alone :  for  no  man  in  his  senses  can  doubt  but 
creating  a  world,  or  its  tantamount,  believing,  is  a  work 
which  none  but  God  can  manage.  (5.)  It  supposes 
that  (if  he,  who  believeth  not  the  divine  record,  makes 
God  a  liar,  and  shall  be  damned)  whenever  unbe- 
lievers are  called  upon  to  believe,  and  God  refuses 
them  the  power  to  do  it,  he  as  much  forces  them  to  make 
him  a  liar  and  to  be  damned,  as  the  king  would  force 
me  to  give  him  the  lie,  and  to  be  hanged,  if  he  put  me 
in  circumstances  where  I  could  have  no  chance  of 
avoiding  that  crime  and  punishment,  but  by  submitting 
to  the  alternative  of  creating  a  world.  (6.)  It  supposes 
that  when  Christ  "marvelled  at  the  unbelief  of  the 
Jews,"  he  showed  as  little  wisdom  as  I  should  were  I  to 
marvel  at  a  man  for  not  creating  three  worlds  as 
quickly  as  a  believer  can  say  the  three  creeds.  (7.)  That 
when  Christ  reproved  his  disciples  for  their  unbelief  he 
acted  more  unreasonably  than  if  he  had  rebuked  them 
for  not  adding  a  new  star  to  every  constellation  in 
heaven.  (8.)  That  to  exhort  people  to  "  continue  in 
the  faith,"  is  to  exhort  them  to  something  as  difficult  as 
to  continue  creating  worlds.  And,  lastly,  that  when 
Christ  fixes  our  damnation  upon  unbelief,  (see  Mark  xvi, 
16,  and  John  iii,  18,)  he  acts  far  more  tyrannically  than 
the  king  would  do  if  he  issued  out  a  proclamation  in- 
forming all  his  subjects  that  whosoever  shall  not,  by 
such  a  time,  raise  a  new  island  within  the  British  seas, 


176  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

shall  be  infallibly  put  to  the  most  painful  and  lingering 
death. 

Having  thus  exposed  the  erroneous  sense  in  which 
some  people  suppose  that  "  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,"  I 
beg  leave  to  mention  in  what  sense  it  appears  to  me  to 
be  so.  Believing  is  the  gift  of  God's  grace,  as  culti- 
vating the  root  of  a  rare  flower  given  you,  or  raising  a 
crop  of  corn  in  your  field,  is  the  gift  of  God's  provi- 
dence. Believing  is  the  gift  of  the  God  of  grace,  as 
breathing,  moving,  and  eating,  are  the  gifts  of  the  God 
of  nature.  He  gives  me  lungs  and  air  that  I  may 
breathe :  he  gives  me  life  and  muscles  that  I  may 
move :  he  bestows  upon  me  food,  and  a  mouth,  that  I 
may  eat :  and  when  I  have  no  stomach,  he  gives  me 
common  sense  to  see  I  must  die,  or  force  myself  to  take 
some  nourishment  or  some  medicine.  But  he  neither 
breathes,  moves,  nor  eats  for  me ;  nay,  when  I  think 
proper,  I  can  accelerate  my  breathing,  motion,  and  eat- 
ing ;  and  if  I  please  I  may  even  fast,  lie  down,  or  hang 
myself,  and  by  that  mean  put  an  end  to  my  eating, 
moving,  and  breathing.  Once  more :  faith  is  the  gift 
of  God  to  believers,  as  sight  is  to  you.  The  Parent  of 
good  freely  gives  you  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  organs 
proper  to  receive  it :  he  places  you  in  a  world  where 
that  light  visits  you  daily :  he  apprizes  you  that  sight 
is  conduetve  to  your  safety,  pleasure,  and  profit ;  and 
every  thing  around  you  bids  you  use  your  eyes  and 
see :  nevertheless,  you  may  not  only  drop  your  curtains, 
and  extinguish  your  candle,  but  close  your  eyes  also. 
This  is  exactly  the  case  with  regard  to  faith.  Free 
grace  removes  (in  part)  the  total  blindness  which  Ad- 
am's fall  brought,  upon  us :  free  grace  gently  sends  us 
some  beams  of  truth,  which  is  the  light  of  the  "  Son 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  177 

of  righteousness ;"  it  disposes  the  eyes  of  our  under- 
standing to  see  those  beams ;  it  excites  us  various  ways 
to  welcome  them ;  it  blesses  us  with  many,  perhaps 
with  all  the  means  of  faith,  such  as  opportunities  to 
hear,  read,  inquire ;  and  power  to  consider,  assent,  con- 
sent, resolve,  and  re-resolve  to  believe  the  truth.  But, 
after  all,  believing  is  as  much  our  own  act  as  seeing. 
We  may,  nay,  in  general  do  suspend,  or  omit  the  act  of 
faith ;  especially  when  that  act  is  not  yet  become 
habitual,  and  when  the  glaring  liglit  that  sometimes 
accompanies  the  revelation  of  the  truth  is  abated. 
Nay,  we  may  imitate  Pharaoh,  Judas, and  all  reprobates; 
we  may  do  by  the  eye  of  our  faith  what  some  report 
that  Democritus  did  by  his  bodily  eyes.  Being  tired 
of  seeing  the  follies  of  mankind,  to  rid  himself  of  that 
disagreeable  sight  he  put  his  eyes  out.  We  may  be  so 
averse  from  "  the  light  which  enlightens  every  man  that 
conies  into  the  world ;"  we  may  so  dread  it  because  our 
works  are  evil,  as  to  exemplify,  like  the  Pharisees,  such 
awful  declarations  as  these: — "Their  eyes  have  they 
closed,  lest  they  should  see,  &.c. :  wherefore  God  gave 
them  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,"  and  "  they  were  blinded." 
When  St.  Paul  says  that  Christians  "  believe  accord- 
ing to  the  working  of  God's  mighty  power,  which  he 
wrought  in  Christ  when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead,'' 
he  chiefly  alludes  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  former  of  these 
wonders  being  the  great  ground  and  object  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  the  latter  displaying  the  great  pri- 
vilege of  the  Christian  dispensation.  To  suppose,  there- 
fore, that  nobody  savingly  believes  who  does  not  believe 
according  to  an  actual,  overwhelming  display  of  God's 
almighty  power,  is  as  unscriptural  as  to  maintain  that 
8* 


lyg  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

God's  people  no  longer  believe  than  he  actually  repeats 
the  wonders  of  Easter  day,  and  of  the  day  of  pentecost. 
Is  it  not  clear  that  the  apostle  had  no  such  notions 
when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians?  "I  declare  unto 
you  the  gospel,  which  I  preached  unto  you,  which  you 
have  received ;  wherein  ye  stand ;  by  which  also  ye 
are  saved,  if  ye  keep  in  memory  [if  ye  hold  fast,  as  the 
original  means]  what  I  preached  unto  you,  unless  ye 
have  believed  in  vain.  For  I  declared  unto  you,  &c., 
that  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  that  he  was  buried,  and 
that  he  rose  again,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  <fec.,  so 
we  preach,  and  so  ye  believed."  Again :  how  plain  is 
the  account  that  our  Lord  and  his  forerunner  give  us 
of  faith  and  unbelief!  "  Verily  we  speak  what  we  do 
know,  and  testify  what  we  have  seen,  and  ye  receive 
iiot  our  witness.  What  he  [Christ]  hath  seen  and 
heard,  that  he  testifieth,  and  no  man  [comparatively] 
receiveth  his  testimony ;  but  he  that  hath  received  his 
testimony  hath  set  to  his  seal  that  God  is  true." 

Two  things  have  chiefly  given  room  to  our  mistakes 
respecting  the  strange  impossibility  of  believing.     The 
first  is  our  confounding  the  truths  which  characterize 
the  several  gospel  dispensations.     We  see,  for  example, 
that  a  poor,  besotted  drunkard,  an  overreaching,  greedy 
tradesman,  a  rich,  skeptical  epicure,  and  a  proud,  ambi 
tious  courtier,  have  no  more  taste  for  "  the  gospel  of 
Christ"  than  a  horse  and  a  mule  have  for  the  high- 
seasoned  dishes  that  crown  a  royal  table.    An  immense 
gulf  is  fixed  between  them  and  the  Christian  faith.    In 
their  present  state  they  can  no  more  believe  "  with  their 
heart  unto  righteousness  in  Christ,"  than  an  unborn 
infent  can  become  a  man  without  passing  through  m- 
fancy  and  youth.     But,  although  they  cannot  yet  be- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  179 

lieve  savingly  in  Christ,  may  they  not  beUeve  in  God 
according  to  the  import  of  our  Lord's  words :  "  Ye  be- 
lieve IN  God,  believe  also  in  me  ?"  If  the  Pharisees 
could  not  believe  in  Christ,  it  was  not  because  God 
never  gave  them  a  power  equal  to  that  which  created 
the  world;  but  because  they  were  practical  Atheists, 
who  actually  rejected  the  morning  light  of  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  by  that  mean  absolutely  unfitted 
themselves  for  the  meridian  light  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation. This  is  evident  from  our  Lord's  own  words : 
"  I  know  you,  that  ye  have  not  the  love  of  God  [or  a 
regard  for  God]  in  you.  I  come  in  my  Father's  name, 
and  ye  receive  me  not,  [though  ye  might  do  it ;  for]  if 
another  shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  will  re- 
ceive. How  can  ye  believe,  who  receive  honour  one  of 
another?  (fcc.  There  is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even 
Moses,  in  whom  ye  trust.  For  had  ye  believed  Moses, 
[and  submitted  to  his  dispensation,]  ye  would  have 
believed  me,  [and  submitted  to]  my  gospel.  But  if  ye 
believe  not  his  writings,  how  shall  ye  believe  my 
words  ?" 

The  second  cause  of  our  mistake  about  the  impossi- 
bility of  beUeving  now,  is  the  confounding  of  faith  with 
its  fruits  and  rewards;  which  naturally  leads  us  to 
think  that  we  cannot  believe,  or  that  our  faith  is  vain, 
till  those  rewards  and  fruits  appear.  But  is  not  this 
being  ingenious  to  make  the  worst  of  things?  Had 
Abraham  no  faith  in  God's  promise  till  Isaac  was  born  ? 
Was  Sarah  a  damnable  unbeliever  till  she  felt  the  long- 
expected  fruit  of  her  womb  stir  there  ?  Had  the  woman 
of  Canaan  no  fsMth  till  our  Lord  granted  her  request, 
and  cried  out,  "  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith,  let  it  be 
done  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt  ?"   Was  the  centurion 


180  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

an  infidel  till  Christ  "  marvelled  at  his  faith,"  and  de 
clared  "  he  had  not  found  such  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel  ?" 
Was  Peter  faithless  till  his  Master  said,  "  Blessed  art 
thou,  Simon  Barjona,"  <fcc.  ?  Did  the  weeping  penitent 
begin  to  believe  only  when  Christ  said  to  her,  "  Go  in 
peace,  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee?"  And  had  the  apostles 
no  faith  in  "  the  promise  of  the  Father,"  till  their  heads 
were  actually  crowned  with  celestial  fire  1  Should  we 
not  distinguish  between  our  sealing  the  truth  of  our 
dispensation  with  the  seal  of  our  faith,  according  to  our 
present  light  and  ability ;  and  God's  sealing  the  truth 
of  our  faith  with  the  seal  of  his  power,  or  actually  re- 
warding us  by  the  grant  of  some  eminent  and  uncom- 
mon blessing  ?  To  beUeve  is  our  part ;  to  make  "  signs 
follow  them  that  believe"  is  God's  part ;  and  because 
we  can  no  more  do  God's  part  than  we  can  make  a 
world,  is  it  agreeable  either  to  Scripture  or  reason  to 
conclude  that  doing  our  part  is  equally  difficult?  Can 
you  find  one  single  instance  in  the  Scriptures  of  a  soul 
willing  to  believe,  and  absolutely  unable  to  do  it  ?  From 
these  two  scriptures,  "  Lord,  increase  our  faith  ; — Lord, 
I  believe,  help  thou  my  unbelief,"  can  you  justly  infer 
that  the  praying  disciples  and  the  distressed  father  had 
no  power  to  believe?  Do  not  their  words  evidence  just 
the  contrary  ?  That  we  cannot  believe,  any  more  than 
we  can  eat,  without  the  help  and  power  of  God,  is  what 
we  are  all  agreed  upon ;  but  does  this  in  the  least  prove 
that  the  help  and  power  by  which  we  believe  is  as  far 
out  of  the  reach  of  willing  souls  as  the  help  and  power 
to  make  a  world  ? 

Such  scriptures  as  these :  "  Unto  you  it  is  given  to 
beUeve :  a  man  can  receive  nothing,  except  it  be  given 
him  firom  above :  no  man  can  come  unto  me  except  the 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER.  ISl' 

Father  draw  him  :  every  good  gift  [and  of  course  that 
of  faith]  Cometh  from  the  Father  of  lights."  Such 
scriptures,  I  say,  secure,  indeed,  the  honour  of  free 
grace,  but  do  not  destroy  the  power  of  free  agency. 
To  us  that  freely  believe  in  a  holy,  righteous  God,  it  is 
given  freely  to  beUeve  in  a  gracious,  bleeding  Saviour ; 
because  the  sick  alone  "have  need  of  a  physician;" 
and  none  but  those  who  believe  in  God  can  see  the 
need  of  an  advocate  with  him.  But  ought  we  from 
hence  to  conclude  that  our  unbelieving  neighbours  are 
necessarily  debarred  from  "  believing  in  God  ?"  When 
our  Lord  said  to  the  unbelieving  Jews  that  they  could 
not  believe  in  him,  did  he  not  speak  of  a  moral  impo- 
tency — an  im potency  of  their  own  making?  I  ask  it 
again,  If  they  obstinately  resisted  the  hght  of  their  in- 
ferior dispensation  ;  if  they  were  none  of  Christ's  Jewish 
sheep,  how  could  they  be  his  Christian  sheep  ?  If  an 
obstinate  boy  sets  himself  against  learning  the  letters, 
how  can  he  ever  learn  to  read  ?  If  a  stubborn  Jew 
stiffly  opposes  the  law  of  Moses,  how  can  he  submit  to 
the  law  of  Christ  ?  Is  it  not  strange  that  some  good 
people  should  leap  into  reprobation,  rather  than  admit 
so  obvious  a  solution  of  this  little  difficulty  ? 

From  the  above-mentioned  texts  we  have,  then,  no 
more  reason  to  infer  that  God  forces  believers  to  believe, 
or  that  he  believes  for  them,  than  to  conclude  that  God 
constrains  diligent  tradesmen  to  get  money,  or  gets  it 
for  them,  because  it  is  said,  "  We  are  not  sufficient  to 
think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves,  but  our  sufficiency  is 
of  God — who  gives  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy.  Re- 
member the  Lord  thy  God,  for  it  is  he  that  giveth  thee 
power  to  get  wealth." 

From  the  whole  I  conclude,  that  so  long  as  "  the  ac- 


182  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

cepted  time"  and  "  the  day  of  salvation"  continue,  all 
sinners  who  have  not  yet  finally  hardened  themselves 
may,  day  and  night,  (through  the  help  and  power  of 
the  general  light  of  Christ's  "  saving  grace,"  mentioned 
John  i,  9,  and  Tit.  ii,  11,)  receive  some  truth  belonging 
to  the  everlasting  gospel ;  though  it  should  be  only  this : 
"  There  is  a  God,  who  will  call  us  to  an  account  for  our 
sins,  and  who  spares  us  to  break  them  off  by  repent- 
ance." And  their  cordial  believing  of  this  truth  would 
make  way  for  their  receiving  the  higher  truths  that 
stand  between  them  and  the  top  of  the  mysterious 
ladder  of  truth.  I  grant  it  is  impossible  they  should 
leap  at  once  to  the  middle,  much  less  to  the  highest 
round  of  the  ladder :  but  if  the  foot  of  it  is  upon  earth, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things  the  lowest  step  is  within 
their  reach,  and,  by  laying  hold  on  it,  they  may  go  on 
"from  faith  to  faith"  till  they  stand  firm  even  in  the 
Christian  faith,  if  distinguishing  grace  has  elected  them 
to  hear  the  Christian  gospel.  The  most  sudden  con- 
versions imply  this  gradual  transition.  As  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  when  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caught 
away  Philip"  from  the  eunuch,  and  transported  him  to 
Azotus,  he  made  Philip's  body  rapidly  measure  all  (he 
distance  between  the  wilderness  of  Gaza  and  Azotus : 
so,  when  he  helped  the  Philippian  jailer  from  the  gates 
of  hell  to  the  gates  of  heaven  in  one  night,  he  made 
him  rapidly  pass  through  the  fear  of  God,  the  dread  of 
his  justice,  and  the  pangs  of  penitential  desires  after 
salvation,  before  he  entered  into  the  joyous  rest  that 
remains  for  those  that  heartily  believe  in  Christ.  Nor 
is  this  quick,  though  gradual  transition  from  midnight 
darkness  to  noon-day  light  an  unintelligible  mystery, 
since  we  are  witnesses  of  a  similar  event  eveiy  revolving 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  183 

day.  The  vegetable  and  the  animal  world  help  us 
likewise  to  understand  the  nature  of  sudden  conver- 
sions. Every  philosopher  knows  that  a  mushroom  passes 
thjough  almost  as  many  stages  of  the  vegetative  life  in 
six  hours  as  an  oak  does  in  two  hundred  years :  and 
those  animalculse  that  frisk  into  life  in  the  morning  of 
a  summer's  day,  propagate  their  species  at  noon,  are  old 
at  four  o'clock,  and  dead  at  six,  measure  the  length  of 
animal  life  as  really  as  Methusaleh  did  his  millennium. 


SECTION  II. 

SAVING  TRUTH  IS  THE  OBJECT  OF  SAVING  FAITH.  WHAT 
TRUTH  IS,  AND  WHAT  GREAT  THINGS  ARE  SPOKEN  OF  IT. 
OUR   SALVATION   TURNS   UPON   IT. 

It  appears  by  the  preceding  section  that  saving 
TRUTH  is  the  ground  and  object  of  saving  faith  ; 
but  "  what  is  truth  ?"  This  is  the  awful  question 
that  Pilate  once  asked  of  Him  who  was  best  able  to 
answer  it.  But  alas  !  Pilate  was  in  such  haste  through 
the  lying  fear  of  man,  that  he  did  not  stay  for  an 
answer.  May  I  venture-  to  give  one  ?  Truth  is  spi- 
ritual substance,  and  a  lie  spiritual  shadow.  Truth 
is  spiritual  light,  and  a  lie  spiritual  darkness.  Truth 
is  the  root  of  all  virtue,  and  a  lie  is  the  root  of  all  vice. 
Truth  is  the  celestial  tincture  that  makes  spirits  good, 
and  a  he  the  infernal  tincture  that  makes  them  evil. 
A  lie  is  as  nearly  related  to  the  devil  as  infection  to  one 
that  has  the  plague,  or  opacity  to  the  «arth ;  and  truth 
is  as  nearly  related  to  God  as  fragrancy  to  burning  in- 
cense, and  light  to  the  unclouded  sun. 

According  to  this  definition  of  truth  and  error,  may 


184  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

we  not  give  plain  and  Scriptural  answers  to  some  of  the 
deepest  questions  in  the  world  ?  What  is  God  ?  The 
reverse  of  "  the  prince  of  darkness,"  and  of  the  "  father 
of  lies :"  he  is  "  the  Father  of  lights,"  and  "  the  God  of 
truth :"  he  "  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  ail." 
What  is  Christ  ?  He  is  "  the  brightness  of  his  Father's 
glory ;  a  light — a  great  light  to  them  that  dwell  in  the 
shadow  of  death."  He  is  "  the  truth ;  the  true  witness  ; 
the  truth  itself;  Emmanuel,  God  with  us,  full  of  grace 
and  truth."  What  is  the  Holy  Ghost?  "  The  Spirit 
of  truth :"  yea,  says  St.  John,  "  the  Spirit  is  truth,"  and 
"leads  into  all  truth."  What  is  Satan?  "  The  spirit 
of  error"  that  "  abode  not  in  the  truth ;  in  whom  there 
is  no  truth,"  and  who  "  deceives  the  nations  which  are 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth." 

Again :  what  is  the  gospel  1  "  The  word  of  truth, 
the  word  of  God,  the  word  of  faith,  the  word  of  the 
kingdom,  the  word  of  life,  and  the  word  of  salvation." 
What  are  gospel  ministers  1  Men  that  "  bear  witness 
to  the  truth ;"  that  "  rightly  divide  the  word  of  truth  ;" 
that  are  "  fellow  helpers  to  the  truth  ;"  that  "  speak  forth 
the  words  of  truth ;"  and  "  are  valiant  for  the  truth  upon 
the  earth."  What  is  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  ?  "  The 
manifestation  of  the  truth."  What  is  it  to  beUeve  the 
gospel  ?  It  is  to  "  receive  the  knowledge  of  the  truth ;" 
to  "  receive  the  love  of  the  truth ;"  and  to  "  obey  the 
truth."  What  is  it  to  mistake  the  gospel  ?  It  is  to  "  err 
from  the  truth ;"  to  "  turn  after  fables ;"  and  to  "  give 
heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils."  What 
is  the  church  7  "  The  pillar  and  ground  of  truth,  against 
which  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail."  What  is  the 
first  fruit  of  sincere  repentance  ?  "  The  acknowledging 
of  the  truth."    What  are  believers  ?   Persons  that  are 


BEAUTIES  OP  FLETCHER.  185 

"  chosen  to  salvation  through  the  [unnecessitated]  belief 
of  the  truth ;"  that  "  are  of  the  truth ;"  that  "  know  the 
truth ;"  that  have  "  the  truth  in  their  inward  parts ;" 
that  have  "  a  good  report  of  the  truth ;  in  whom  dwells 
the  truth ;  who  have  been  taught  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus ;  in  whom  is  the  truth  of  Christ ;  who  have  puri- 
fied their  souls  by  obeying  the  truth  ;"  and  "  walk  in 
the  truth."  What  are  unstable  souls  ?  People  "  ever 
learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,"  with"  whom  "  the  truth  of  the  gospel  does 
not  continue,"  and  who  are  wilfully  "  bewitched,  that 
they  should  not  obey  the  truth."  What  are  obstinate 
unbelievers  ?  "  Men  of  corrupt  minds,  destitute  of  the 
truth ;  unreasonable  men,"  that  "  resist  the  truth ;"  that 
"glory  and  lie  against  the  truth  ;"  that  "  walk  in  dark- 
ness, and  do  not  the  truth."  What  are  apostates?  Men 
that  "  sin  wilfully  after  they  have  received  the  know^- 
ledge  of  the  truth,"  and,  instead  of  repenting,  "  count 
the  blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  they  were  sancti- 
fied, an  unholy  thing."  What  are  perfect  men  in 
Christ?  Men  that  are  "established  in  the  present 
truth,"  i.  e.,  in  the  truth  revealed  under  the  Christian 
dispensation,  and  that  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth, 
but  for  the  truth. 

If  all  turns  thus  upon  truth,  and  if  truth  is  at  once 
spiritual  light  and  the  object  of  saving  faith,  it  follows : 
(1.)  That  to  walk  in  the  truth,  to  walk  in  the  Ught, 
and  to  walk  by  faith,  are  phrases  of  the  same  import. 
(2.)  That  to  be  converted  is  to  be  "  turned  from  dark- 
ness to  light,"  that  is,  from  the  practical  belief  of  a  lie 
to  the  practical  "  belief  of  the  truth ;"  or,  as  St.  Paul 
expresses  it,  "from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God." 
And,  (3.)  That  the  chief  business  of  the  tempter  is  to 


186  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

"  take  the  word  of  truth  out  of  our  hearts,  lest  we  should 
believe  and  be  saved ;"  or,  in  other  terms,  to  "  blind  our 
minds,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ 
should  shine  unto  us." 

If  Jesus  Christ  is  the  truth,  the  light,  the  life,  and  the 
"Word  that  "  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  was 
God ;"  the  Word  "  by  which  all  things  were  made"  and 
are  preserved  :  if  he  is  "  the  light  that  shineth  in  dark- 
ness," even  when  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not : 
if  "  he  is  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
Cometh  into  the  world,"  while  the  day  of  salvation  lasts : 
if  he  is  the  archetype,  the  eternal,  living  pattern  of  all 
saving  truth :  if  he  is  the  essential,  almighty  Word, 
from  whom  revealed  truth  and  the  word  of  our  salva- 
tion flow  as  constantly  as  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  : 
do  we  not  slight  him,  and  despise  eternal  life,  when  we 
slight  the  truth,  and  despise  the  Word  ?  And  may  not 
the  great  things  spoken  of  the  Word  confirm  what  has 
been  said  of  the  truth,  and  help  us  to  answer  the  ques- 
tions already  proposed  in  a  manner  equally  Scriptural 
and  conclusive? 

Not  forgetting  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  "the 
word  nigh,  the  word  behind"  us,  the  "  stiU  small  voice," 
and  "  the  word  of  that  grace  which  has  appeared  unto 
all  men,  teaching  them  to  deny  worldly  lusts,  and  to 
live  soberly,"  &c.,  I  ask,  What  are  evangelists  ?  Men 
who  "  bear  record  of  the  word  of  God,"  and  "  bear  wit- 
ness of  the  light,  that  all  men  may  believe."  "  Sowers, 
that  sow  the  word  of  the  kingdom :  holding  forth  the 
word  of  life."  What  are  false  apostles?  Men  that 
"  corrupt  the  word  of  God,"  that  "  handle  the  word  of 
God  deceitfully,"  and  "  preach  another  gospel ;  whose 
words  eat  as  does  a  canker."     What  are  believers? 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  187 

People  that  "  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it ;"  that 
are  "  begotten  of  God  by  the  word  of  truth ;"  that  "  are 
born  again  by  the  word  of  God ;"  that  "  hear  the  say- 
ings of  Christ,  and  do  them ;  in  whose  hearts  the  word 
of  Christ  dwells  richly ;  who  receive  it  not  as  the  word 
of  men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God,  which 
worketh  effectually  in  them  that  believe"  it.  They  are 
persons  that  "receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted 
word,  which  is  able  to  save  their  souls ;"  that  have 
"  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,"  that  "  desire  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word,  that  they  may  grow  thereby ;"  that 
"  gladly  receive  the  word ;  have  God's  word  abiding  in 
them;"  are  made  "clean  through  the  word  which 
Christ  speaks"  by  his  ministers,  his  Scriptures,  his  Spi- 
rit, his  works,  or  his  rod ;  and  "  in  whom  the  seed  of 
that  word  produces"  thirty  fold,  sixty  fold,  or  a  hundred 
fold,  according  to  their  light,  faithfulness,  and  oppor- 
tunity. 

Again:  what  are  unbelievers?  Antinomian  hypo- 
crites "  that  hear  the  sayings  of  Christ,  and  do  them 
not ;"  or  Pharisaic  "  despisers  that  stumble  at  the  word, 
speak  against  those  things  which  are  spoken  by"  God's 
messengers;  "contradicting  and  blaspheming;"  and 
who,  by  "  putting  the  word  of  God  from  them,  judge 
themselves  unworthy  of  eternal  Ufe."  What  are  mar- 
tyrs ?  Witnesses  of  the  truth ;  "  slain  for  the  word  of 
God."  And  what  are  apostates?  Persons  in  whom 
"  the  word  is  choked  by  the  cares  of  this  world,  or  the 
deceitftilness  of  riches ;"  who  "  fall  away  when  perse- 
cution ariseth  because  of  the  word ;  by  reason  of  whom 
the  way  of  truth  is  evil  spoken  of;"  and  in  whom  the 
seed  of  the  word  "  becometh  unfruitful."  Thus  all  turns 
still  upon  truth  and  the  word  of  Grod. 


188 


BEAUTIES   OF   FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  SCRIPTURE  SCALES. 

SECTION  I. 

THREE  PAIR  OF  GOSPEL  AXIOMS,  WHICH  MAY  BE  CON- 
SIDERED AS  GOLDEN  CHAINS,  BY  WHICH  THE  SCRIP- 
TURE   SCALES    HANG    ON    THEIR    BEAM. 


I. 

I.  Every  obedient  be- 
liever's salvation  is  origin- 
ally of  God's  free  grace. 

II.  God's  free  gra^ce  is 
always  the  first  cause  of 
what  is  good. 

III.  When  God's  free 
grace  has  begun  to  work 
moral  good,  man  may 
faithfully  follow  him  by 
believing,  ceasing  to  do 
evU,  and  working  right- 
eousness, according  to  his 
light  and  talent. 

Thus  is  God  the  wise 
rewarder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  him,  ac- 
cording to  these  words  of 
the  apostle: — "God.  at  the 
revelation  of  his  righteous 
judgment,  will  render  to 
every  man  according  to 
his  deeds;  eternal  life  to 


II. 

I.  Every  unbeliever's 
damnation  is  originally  of 
his  own  personal  free  will. 

II.  Man's  free  wiU  is 
always  the  first  cause  of 
what  is  evil. 

III.  When  man's  free 
will  has  begun  to  work 
moralEviL,  Godmay  justly 
follow  him  by  withdraw- 
ing his  slighted  grace,  re- 
vealing his  deserved  wrath, 
and  working  natural  evil. 

Thus  is  God  the  right- 
eous punisher  of  them 
that  obstinately  neglect 
him,  according  to  such 
scriptures  as  these : — "Shall 
not  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  do  right  ?  Ye  say. 
The  way  of  the  Lord  is 
not  equal:  hear  now,  O  ye 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  189 

I.  II. 

them  who  by  patient  con-  house  of  Israel,  Is  not  my 
tinuance  in  well  doing  seek  way  equal  ?  I  will  judge 
for  glory.  Seeing  it  is  a  you  every  one  after  his 
righteous  thing  with  God  way.  Is  God  unright- 
to  recompense  rest  to  them  eous,  who  taketh  ven- 
who  are  troubled"  for  his  geance?  God  forbid!  How 
sake,  to  give  them  "a  then  shall  God  judge  the 
crown  of  righteousness"  as  world  ?  Thou  art  right- 
a  righteous  Judge,  and  to  eous,  O  Lord,  &c.,  because 
,make  them  "walk  with  thou  hast  judged  thus. 
Christ  in  white,  because  Thou  hast  given  them 
they  are  worthy, ^^  (in  a  blood  to  drink,  for  they  are 
gracious  and  evangelical  worthy,^''  (in  a  strict  and 
sense.)  legal  sense.) 

Hence  it  appears  that  God's  design  in  the  three 
grand  economies  of  man's  creation,  redemption,  and 
sanctification,  is  to  display  the  riches  of  his  free 
GRACE  AND  DISTRIBUTIVE  JUSTICE,  by  showing  him- 
self the  bounteous  Author  of  every  good  gift,  and  by 
graciously  rewarding  the  worthy:  while  he  justly 
punishes  the  unworthy  according  to  their  works,  agree- 
ably to  these  awful  words  of  Christ  and  his  prophets : 
"  For  judgment  I  am  come  into  this  world.  The  Lord 
hath  made  all  things  for  himself;  yea,  even  the  [men 
who  to  the  last  will  remain]  wicked,  for  the  day  of  evil. 
Because  he  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness ;"  and  to  all  the 
wicked  that  day  will  be  evil  and  terrible :  "  For  be- 
hold, the  day  cometh,"  says  the  Lord,  "  that  shall  burn 
as  an  oven ;  and  all  that  do  wickedly  shall  be  as 
stubble ;  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up, 
says  the  Lord  of  hosts.     But  the  righteous  shall  rejoice 


190  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

when  he  seeth  the  vengeance :  so  that  a  man  shall  say, 
Verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous!  Doubt- 
less there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  the  earth  !" 

Upon  this  rational  and  Scriptural  plan,  may  we  not 
solve  a  difficulty  that  has  perplexed  all  the  philosophers 
in  the  world  ?  "  How  can  you,"  say  they,  "  reasonably 
account  for  the  origin  of  evil  without  bearing  hard 
upon  God's  infinite  goodness,  power,  or  knowledge? 
How  can  you  make  appear,  not  only  that  a  good  God 
could  create  a  world,  where  evil  now  exists  in  ten  thou- 
sand forms ;  but  also,  that  it  was  highly  expedient  he 
should  create  such  a  world  rather  than  any  other  ?" 

Answer. — When  it  pleased  God  to  create  a  world, 
his  wisdom  obliged  him  to  create  upon  the  plan  that 
was  most  worthy  of  him.  Such  a  plan  was  undoubt- 
edly that  which  agreed  best  with  all  the  divine  perfec- 
tions taken  together.  Wisdom  and  power  absolutely 
required  that  it  should  be  a  world  of  rational,  as  well 
as  of  irrational  creatures  ;  of  free  as  well  as  of  neces- 
sary agents ;  such  a  world  displaying  far  better  what 
St.  Paul  calls  vioXvnoiKi2.og  ao(^ia,  "the  multifarious, 
vEiriegated  wisdom  of  God,"  as  well  as  his  infinite 
power  in  making,  ruling,  and  overruling  various  orders 
of  beings. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  myriads  of  free  agents, 
who  necessarily  fell  short  of  absolute  perfection,  would 
all  behave  aUke.  Here  God's  goodness  demanded  that 
those  who  behaved  well  should  be  rewarded  ;  his  sove- 
reignty insisted  that  those  who  behaved  ill  should  be 
punished ;  and  his  distributive  justice  and  equity  re- 
quired that  those  who  made  the  best  use  of  their  talents 
should  be  entitled  to  the  highest  rewards ;  while  those 
who  abused  divine  favours  most  should  have  the  se- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  191 

verest  punishments ;  mercy  reserving  to  itself  the  right 
of  raising  rewards  and  of  alleviating  punishments,  in  a 
way  suited  to  the  honour  of  all  the  other  divine  attri- 
butes. 

This  being  granted,  (and  I  do  not  see  how  any  man 
of  reason  and  piety  can  deny  it,)  it  evidently  follows, 
(1.)  That  a  world,  in  which  various  orders  of  free  as 
well  as  of  necessary  agents  are  admitted,  is  most  per- 
fect. (2.)  That  this  world,  having  been  formed  upon 
such  a  wise  plan,  was  the  most  perfect  that  could  pos- 
sibly be  created.  (3.)  That  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
evil  Tnay,  although  there  is  no  necessity  it  should,  en- 
ter into  such  a  world :  else  it  could  not  be  a  world  of 
free  agents  who  are  candidates  for  rewards  offered  by 
distributive  justice.  (4.)  That  the  blemishes  and  dis- 
orders of  the  natural  world  are  only  penal  consequences 
of  the  disobedience  of  free  agents.  And  (5.)  That, 
from  such  penal  disorders  we  may  indeed  conclude  that 
man  has  abused  free  will,  but  not  that  God  deals  in 
free  wrath.  Only  admit,  therefore,  the  free  will  of  ra- 
tional, and  you  cannot. but  fall  in  love  with  our  Crea- 
tor's plan ;  dark  and  homd  as  it  appears  when  it  is 
viewed  through  the  smoked  glass  of  the  fatalist,  the 
Manichee,  or  the  rigid  predestinarian. 


SECTION  II. 

SETTING    FORTH    THE  GLORY  OP  FAITH    AND    THE   HONOUR 
OF  WORKS. 

FIRST    SCALE.  SECX)ND    SCALE. 

"Whosoever  believeth  on         Then  shall  I  not    be 
liim    [Christ]    shall    not    ashamed,  when  /  have  re- 


192 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


I. 

be    ashamed,    Rom.    x, 
11. 

This  is  the  work  of  God, 
that  ye  believe  on  him 
whom  he  hath  sent,  John 
vi,  29. 

Abraham  believed  God, 
&c.,  and  he  was  called  the 
friend  of  God,  James  ii, 
23. 

To  him  that  worketh 
not,  but  believeth,  (fee,  his 
faith  is  counted  for  right- 
eousness, Rom.  iv,  5. 

If  ye  believe  not  that  I 
am  he,  ye  shall  die  in 
your  sins,  John  viii,  24. 

Only  believe,  [I  particu- 
larly require  a  strong  exer- 
tion of  thy  faith  at  this 
time,]  Luke  viii,  50. 

He  that  believethon  him 
that  sent  me,  hath  ever- 
lasting life,  and  shall  not 
come  into  condemnation ; 
but  is  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  John  v,  24. 

Thy  faith  hath  saved 
thee,  Luke  vii,  50. 

Through  faith  they 
wrought  righteousness,  ob- 


II. 

sped  unto  all  thy  com- 
mandments, Psa.  cxix,  6. 

What  does  the  Lord  re- 
quire of  thee,  but  to  do 
justly,  to  love  mercy,  and 
to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God,  Micah  vi,  8. 

Ye  are  my  friends,  if 
ye  do  whatsoever  I  com- 
mand you,  John  xv,  14. 

Faith,  if  it  hath  not 
works,  is  dead,  being  alone, 
James  ii,  17. 

Brethren,  (fee,  if  ye  live 
after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die, 
Rom.  viii,  13. 

Thedevils  believe,  [there- 
fore faith  is  not  sufficient 
without  its  works,]  James 
ii,  19. 

With  the  merciful  thou 
[O  God]  wilt  show  thyself 
merciful :  and  with  the  fro- 
ward  thou  wilt  show  thy- 
self unsavoury,  2  Sam. 
xxii,  26,  27. 

We  are  saved  by  hope^ 
Rom.  viii,  24. 

Remembering,  (fee,  your 
labour  of  love — let   pa- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


193 


I. 


II. 


tained  promises,  &c.,  Heb. 
xi,  33. 

With  the  heart  man  he- 
lieveth  to  righteousness, 
Rom.  X,  10. 

Received  ye  the  Spirit  by 
the  works  of  the  law,  or  by 
the  hearing  of  faith  7  Gal. 
iii,  2. 


Through  his  name,  who- 
soever helieveth  on  him 
shall  receive  remission  of 
sins,  Acts  X,  43. 

If  Abraham  were  justi- 
fied by  WORKS,  he  hath 
whereof  to  glory,  Rom.  iv,  2. 

Without  FAITH  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  God,  Heb. 
xi,  6. 

They  that  are  of  faith 
are  blessed  with  faithful 
Abraham,  Gal.  iii,  9. 

To  them  that  are  MwSe- 

/ici?in^  is  NOTHING  PURE, 

Tit.  i,  16. 

Believe   in    the    Lord, 


tience  have  her  perfect 
work,  1  Thess.  i,  3 ;  James 
i,4. 

And  with  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  to  sal 
vation.  (Ibid.) 

I  know  thy  works,  that 
thou  art  neither  cold  nor 
hot,  (fee,  so  then,  «fec.,  I 
will  spew  thee  out  of 
my  mouth,  Rev.  iii,  16, 
16. 

Forgive,  and  ye  shall 
be  forgiven.  If  we  con- 
fess our  sins,  he  is  faith- 
ful and  just  to  forgive  us, 
Luke  vi,  37;  1  John  i,  9. 

Was  not  Abraham  our 
idXhet justified  hy  works  ? 
James  ii,  21. 

O  vain  man,  faith  with- 
out WORKS  is  dead,  James 
ii,  20. 

If  ye  were  Abraham's 
children,  ye  would  do  the 
works  of  Abraham,  John 
viii,  39. 

Give  alms,  <fec.,  and 
behold  ALL  THINGS  are 
CLEAN  unto  /ou,  Luke  xi, 
41. 

If  thou  doest  well,  shall 


194 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 


II. 


&c.,  SO  shall  you  be  es- 
tablished, 2  Chron.  xx, 
20. 

To  the  praise  of  the 
glory  of  his  grace,  &.C.,  he 
hath  made  us  accepted  in 
the  beloved,  Eph.  i,  6. 

I  live  by  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God,  who  loved  me, 
and  gave  himself  for  me. 
Gal.  ii,  20. 

For  metoZiveisCHRisT, 
PhU.  i,  21. 

This  [Christ]  is  the  true 
God.  and  eternal  life,  1 
John  V,  20. 

This  is  eternal  life,  to 
know  thee,  <fcc.,  and  Jesus 
Christ,  John  xvii,  3. 

He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  hath  everlasting  life, 
John  iii,  36. 

Israel,  which  followed 
after  the  law  of  righteous- 
ness, hath  not  attained  to 
the  law  of  righteousness. 
Wherefore  ?  Because  they 
sought  it  not  by  faith,  but 
as  it  were  by  the  works  of 
the  law  [opposed  to  Christ;] 


not    thou    be    accepted? 
Gen.  iv,  7. 

In  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  God,  and  worketh 
righteousness,  is  accepted 
with  him,  Acts  x,  35. 

If  ye,  through  the  Spirit, 
MORTIFY  the  deeds  of  the 
body,  ye  shall  live,  Rom. 
viii,  13. 

Keep  my  command- 
ments and  live,  Prov.  iv, 
4. 

His  [my  Father's]  com- 
mandment is  life  ever- 
lasting, John  xii,  50. 

Though  I  have  all 
knowledge,  <fcc.,  and  have 
not  charity,  I  am  nothing, 
1  Cor.  xiii,  2. 

And  he  that  [airct(?ei]  dis- 
oheyeth  the  Son,  shall  not 
see  life.   (Ibid.) 

If  any  man  among 
you,  (fcc,  bridleth  not  his 
tongue,  &C.5  this  man's  re- 
ligion is  vain.  Pure  reU- 
gion  and  undefiled  before 
God  is  this:  to  visit  the 
fatherless  and  widows  in 
their  affliction,  and  to  keep 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


195 


I. 


II. 


for  they  stumbled  at  that 
stumbling  stone,  Rom.  ix, 
31,  32. 

Abraham  believed  God, 
and  it  was  imputed  [or 
counted]  to  him  for  right- 
eousness, Rom.  iv,  3. 

TVust  [i.  e.,  believe]  ye 
in  the  Lord  for  ever;  for 
in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is 
everlasting  strength,  Isa. 
xxvi,  4. 

He  that  helieveth  on 
him  is  not  condemned,  but 
he  that  believeth  not  is 
condemned  already,  John 
iii,  18. 

Be  it  known  unto  you 
that  through  this  man  is 
preached  unto  you  the  for- 
giveness of  sins;  and  by 
him  all  that  believe  are 
JUSTIFIED,  Acts  xiii,  38, 
39. 

We  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ  that  we  might 
be  JUSTIFIED  [as  sinners] 
by  the  faith  of  Christ, 
Gal.  ii,  16. 


himself  unspotted  from  the 
world,  James  i,  26,  27. 

Phinehas  carecw^ec?  judg- 
ment, and  that  was  count- 
ed [or  imputed]  unto  him 
for  righteousness  for  ever- 
more, Psa.  cvi,  30,  31. 

If  I  regard  iniquity  in 
my  heart,  the  Lord  will 
not  hear  me.  If  our  heart 
condemn  us  not,  then  have 
we  confidence  toward  God, 
Psa.  Ixvi,  18 ;  1  John  iii,  21. 

He  that  humbleth  him- 
self shall  be  exalted,  and 
every  one  that  exalt eth 
himself  shall  be  abased, 
Luke  xiv,  11. 

The  doers  of  the  law 
[of  faith]  shall  be  justi- 
FiF.D, — in  the  day  when 
God  shall  judge  the  secrets 
of  men,  <fcc.,  according  to 
my  gospel,  Rom.  ii,  13, 16. 

In  the  day  of  judgment 
— by  thy  words  thou  shalt 
be  JUSTIFIED,  and  by  thy 
words  thou  shalt  be  con- 
demned. Matt,  xii,  36,  37. 
The  balance  of  the  preceding  scriptures  shows  that 


196 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHBR. 


PATiH,  and  the  works  of  faith,  are  equally  necessary 
to  the  salvation  of  adults.  Faith,  for  their  justification 
as  sinners,  in  the  day  of  conversion  ;  and  the  works 
of  faith,  for  their  justification  as  believers,  both  in  the 
day  of  TRIAL  and  of  judgment.  Hence  it  follows, 
that  when  Zelotes  preaches  mere  S'olifidianism,  and 
when  Honestus  enforces  mere  morality,  they  both 
grossly  mangle  Bible  Christianity,  which  every  real 
Protestant  is  bound  to  defend  against  all  Antinomian 
and  Pharisaic  innovators. 


SECTION  III. 

SHOWING  WHAT  IS  GOD's  WORK,  AND  WHAT  IS  OUR  OWN  ; 
HOW  CHRIST  SAVES  US,  AND  HOW  WE  WORK  OUT  OUR 
OWN   SALVATION. 


FIRST  SCALE. 

Containing  the  weights  of 

FREE  GRACE. 

The  hour  is  coming  and 
now  is,  when  the  dead 
shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God ;  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live,  John  v,  25. 

I  am  come,  that  they 
might  have  life,  and  that 
they  might  have  it  more 
abundantly,  John  x,  10. 

You  hath  he  quickened, 
who  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  skis,  Eph.  ii,  1. 

You  being  dead  in  your 


SECOND  SCALE. 

Containing  the  weights  of 

FREE  WILL. 

Awake,  thou  that  sleep- 
est,  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
light,  Eph.  v,  14. 

Except  ye  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  Son  of  man,  &c.,  ye 
have  no  life  in  you,  John 
vi,  53. 

Ye  will  not  come  unto 
me,  that  ye  might  have 
life,  John  v,  40. 

Thou  hast  a  name  that 


BBAOTIES  OF  FLBTCHBR. 


im 


I. 

sins,  &c.,  hath  he  quicken- 
ed together  with  him,  Col. 

ii,  la. 

Except  a  man  be  born 
agaiuj  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God,  Jdm 
iii,  3. 

The  wind  bloweth  where 
it  listethj  &c.,  so  is  every 
one  that  is  horn  of  the 
JSpirit,  John  iii,  8. 


Being  born  again,  not 
of  corruptible  seed,  but, 
&c,  by*  the  word  of  God ; 


II. 

thou  livest,  and  art  dead, 
<fcc.  iStrengthenthe  things 
that  remain,  and  are  ready 
to  die,  Rev.  iii,  1,2. 

Every  one  that  loveth — 
every  one  that  does  right- 
eousness, is  horn  of  God, 
1  John  iv,  7 ;  ii,  29. 

Humble  yourselves  un- 
der the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  that  he  may  exalt 
you.  For  God  resisteth 
the  proud,  and  giveth 
grace  to  the  humble,  1 
Pet.  V,  6,  5. 

Wherefore,  &c.,  lay 
apart  all  filthiness,  <fcc., 
and  receive,*  &c.,  the  in 


*  How  mistaken  were  the  divines  that  composed  the  synod  of 
Dort,  when,  speaking  of  regeneration,  they  said,  without  any  dis. 
tinction,  (Illam  Deus  in  nobis  sine  nobis  operatur,)  "  God  works  i* 
in  us  without  us !"  Just  as  if  God  believed  in  us  without  us !  Jus* 
as  if  we  received  the  word  without  our  receiving  of  it !  Just  as  if 
the  sower  and  the  sun  produced  com  without  the  field  that  bears  it ! 
What  led  them  into  this  mistake  was,  no  doubt,  a  commendable 
desire  to  maintain  the  honour  of  free  grace.  However,  if  by  rege. 
neration  they  meant  the  fir»t  communication  of  that  fructifying, 
"  saving  grace,  tohich  has  appeared  to  all  men" — the  first  visit,  or 
the  first  implanting  of"  that  light  of  life,  which  enlightens  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world,"  they  spoke  a  precious  truth :  for  God 
bestows  this  free  gift  upon  us,  absolutely  "  without  us !"  Nor  could 
we  ever  do  what  he  requires  of  us  in  the  scale  of  free  will,  if  he  had 
not  first  given  us  a  talent  of  grace,  and  if  he  did  not  continually  help 
us  to  use  it  aright  when  we  have  a  good  will. 


198 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 

and  this  is  the  word^  which 
by  the  gospel  is  preached 
unto  you,  1  Pet.  i,  23,  25. 
Of  his  own  will  begat  he 
us  with  the  word  of  truth, 
James  i,  18. 


Christ  our  passover  is 
sacrificed  for  us,  1  Cor. 
vi,7. 


n. 

grafted  word,  James  i,  19, 
21.  Whosoever  believeth, 
&c.,  is  born  of  God,  [ac- 
cording to  his  dispensa- 
tion,] 1  John  V,  1.  As 
many  as  received  him,  to 
them  [of  his  own  gracious 
will]  gave  he  power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God,  even 
to  them  that  believe  on  hia 
name,  John  i,  12.  For  ye 
are  all  the  children  of  God 
6y  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Faith  Cometh  by  hearing, 
[which  is  our  work,]  Gal. 
iii,  26 ;  Rom.  x,  17.  They 
[the  Bereans]  received  the 
word  with  all  readiness  of 
mind,  and  searched  the 
Scriptures  daily,  whether 
those  things  were  so;  there- 
fore many  of  them  believ- 
ed ;  [i.  e.,  received  "  the 
ingrafted  word,"  and  by 
that  means  were  "  born 
again"  according  to  the 
Christian  dispensation  j] 
Acts  xvii,  11,  12. 

Purge  out  the  old  lea- 
ven [of  wickedness]  that 
ye  may  be  a  new  lump. 
{Ibid.) 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 


i9d 


The  blood  of  Christ 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin, 
1  John  i,  7. 

By  one  offering  he  hath 
perfected  for  ever  [in  aton- 
ing merits]  them  that  are 
sanctified,  Heb.  x,  14. 

He  hy  himself  purged 
our  sins.  Of  the  people 
there  was  none  with  him, 
Heb.  i,  3 ;  Isaiah  Ixiii,  3. 
[Here  the  incommunicable 
glory  of  making  a  proper 
atonement  for  sin  is  se- 
cured to  our  Lord.] 


He  put  away  sin  by 
the  sacrifice  of  himself, 
Heb.  ix,  26. 

Ye  are  sanctified,  (fcc, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of 
our  God,  1  Cor.  vi,  11. 


Surely  one  shall  say,  In 
[or  through]  the  Lord 
have  I  righteousness  and 
strength,  Isa.  xlv,  24. 


n. 

Cleanse  your  hands,  ye 
sinners ;  and  purify  your 
hearts,  ye  double-minded, 
James  iv,  8. 

Let  us  go  on  unto  per- 
fection. This  one  thing 
I  do,  &c.  I  press  toward 
the  mark,  Heb.  vi,  1 ;  Phil, 
iii,  13. 

Ye  have  purified  your 
souls  in  obeying  the  truth. 
Verily  I  have  cleansed  my 
heart  in  vain,  and  washed 
my  hands  in  innocency. 
[The  word  in  vain  refers 
only  to  a  temptation  of 
David  when  he  "  saw  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked,"] 
1  Pet.  i,  22 ;  Psa.  Ixxiii,  13. 

Put  away  the  evil  of 
your  doing  from  before 
mine  eyes,  Isa.  i,  16. 

If  a  man  purge  him- 
self from  these,  he  shall 
be  a  vessel  unto  honour, 
sanctified,  and  meet  for 
the  Master's  use,  2  Tim. 
ii,  21. 

In  every  nation  he  that 
iDorketh  righteousness  is 
accepted  of  Him,  Acts  x, 
35. 


200 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 


II. 


I  will  make  mention  of 
thy  righteousness,  even 
of  thine  only,  &c.  My 
mouth  shall  show  forth 
thy  righteousness,  and 
thy  salvation  all  the  day, 
Psa.  Ixxi,  15,  16. 

My  righteousness  is 
near,  my  salvation  is  gone 
forth,  Isa.  h,  5. 

I  bring  near  7ny  right- 
eousness, it  shall  not  be 
far  off;  and  my  salvation 
shall  not  tarry,  Isa.  xlvi, 
13. 

God  sent  his  Son  Jesiis 
to  hless  you,  in  turning, 
&c.,  ymi  from  your  iniqui- 
ties, Acts  iii,  26. 


Him  [Christ]  hath  God 
exalted  to  give  repentance 
to  Israel,  and  forgiveness 
of  sins,  Acts  v,  31. 

Be  it  known  unto  you, 
that  through  this  man 
[Christ]  is  preached  unto 
you  the  forgiveness  of 
sins.  Acts  xxxi,  38. 

Not  by  wffrks  of  right- 


Then  [when  thou  deal- 
est thy  bread  to  the  hungry, 
bringest  the  poor  to  thy 
house,  &c.,]  then  shall  thy 
righteousness  go  before 
thee,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  thy  rereward, 
Isa.  Iviii,  8. 

Whosoever  does  not 
righteousness  is  not  of 
God,  1  John  iii,  10. 

The  Lord  rewarded  me 
[David]  according  to  my 
righteousness,  according 
to  the  cleanness  of  my 
hands,  2  Sam.  xxii,  21. 

I  thought  on  my  ways, 
and  turned  my  feet  unto 
thy  testimonies.  I  m,ade 
haste,  and  delayed  not  to 
keep  thy  commandments, 
Psa.  cxix,  59,  60. 

Repent  ye,  therefore, 
and  be  converted,  that 
your  sins  may  be  blotted 
out.  Acts  iii,  19. 

Arise :  why  tarriest 
thou?  Wash  away  thy 
sins;  calling  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  Acts 
xxii,  16. 

Except  your  righteous- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


201 


I. 

eousness  which  we  have 
done ;  but  of  his  mercy  he 
saved  us,  Tit.  iii,  5. 


And  this  is  the  name 
whereby  he  shall  be  called, 
The  Lord  our  righteous- 
ness, Jer.  xxiii,  6. 

Them  that  have  obtain- 
ed like  precious  faith  with 
us,  through  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  and  our  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ,  2  Pet. 
i,l. 

Christ  is  made  unto 
us  of  God,  (fcc,  righteous- 
nes^s,  1  Cor.  i,  30. 

Even  for  mine  own  sake 
will  I  do  it,  Isa.  xlviii,  11. 

No  man  can  say  that 
Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by 
the  Holy  Ghost — the  Spi- 
rit of  faith,  1  Cor.  xii,  3 ; 
2  Cor.  iv,  13. 

I  will  put  my  Spirit 
within  you,  Ezek.  xxxvi, 
27.  I  will  pour  out  of  my 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  Acts 
ii,  17. 


II. 

ness  exceed  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  scribes,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  Matt. 
V,  20. 

He  that  does  righteous- 
ness is  righteous,  even  as 
he  [Christ]  is  righteous, 
1  John  iii,  7. 

Though  Noah,  Daniel, 
and  Job  were  in  it,  [the 
place  about  to  be  destroy- 
ed,] they  should  deliver 
but  their  own  souls  by 
their  righteousness,  Ezek". 
xiv,  14. 

The  righteousness  of 
the  RIGHTEOUS  shall  be 
upon  him,  Ezek.  xviii,  20. 

/  will  for  this  be  in- 
quired of,  &c.,  to  do  it  for 
them,  Ezek.  xxxvi,  37. 

Your  heavenly  Father 
will  give  his  Holy  Spirit 
to  them  that  ask  him — to 
them  that  obey  him,  Luke 
xi,  13 ;  Acts  x,  32. 

Repent  and  be  baptized, 
&c.,  [or  stand  to  your  bap- 
tismal vow,]  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Acts  ii,  38. 


9* 


202 


BEAITTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 


II. 


Hear  me,  O  Lord,  that 
this  people  may  know,  <fcc., 
that  ihouhast  turned  their 
heart  back  again,  1  Kings 
xviii,  37. 

A  new  heart  will  I  give 
you,  &c.  I  will  take  away 
the  stony  heart,  &c.,  and  I 
will  give  you  a  heart  of 
flesh,  Ezek.  xxxvi,  26. 

The  preparation  of  the 
heart  in  man  is  from  the 
Lord.  Thou  wilt  prepare 
their  heart,  [the  heart  of 
the  humble,]  Prov.  xvi,  1 ; 
Psa.  X,  17. 

The  Lord  will  give 
grace  and  glory.  Psalm 
Ixxxiv,  11. 

Exceeding  great  and  pre- 
cious promises  are  given 
us;  that  by  these  you  might 
be  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature,  2  Pet.  i,  4. 

Come,  for  all  things  are 
now  ready,  Luke  xiv,  17. 


The  Lord  will  wait  to 
be  gracious,  Isa.  xxx,  18. 

Be    not  dismayed,   for 


Take  with  you  words, 
and  turn  to  the  Lord. 
l\irn  ye  even  to  me  with 
all  your  heart,  Hos.  xiv, 
2 ;  Joel  ii,  12. 

Harden  not  your  heart : 
rend  your  heart :  make 
you  a  new  heart,  for  why 
will  ye  die  ?  Psa.  xcv,  8 ; 
Joel  ii,  13 ;  Ezek.  xviii,  31. 

Nevertheless,  there  are 
good  things  found  in  thee, 
in  that,  &c.,  thou  hast  pre- 
pared thine  heart  to  seek 
God,  2  Chron.  xix,  3. 

No  good  thing  will  he 
withhold  from  them  that 
walk  uprightly.   {Ibid.) 

Having  therefore  these 
promises,  let  us  cleanse 
ourselves  from  all  filthi- 
ness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit, 
2  Cor.  vii,  1. 

The  Lamb's  wife  hath 
made  herself  ready.  Be 
ye  also  ready.  Rev.  xix, 
7 ;  Matt,  xxiv,  44. 

Wait  on  the  Lord,  &c. : 
wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord, 
Psa.  xxvii,  14. 

David  encouraged  him- 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


203 


I. 


II. 


I  am  thy  God;  I  will 
strengthen  thee,  Isa.  xli, 
10. 

Yea,  Iioill  uphold  thee 
with  the  right  hand  of  my 
righteousness,  Isa.  xH,  10. 


/  will  sprinkle  cleaa 
water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  clean:  from  all 
your  filthiness,  and  from 
all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse 
you,  Ezek.  xxxvi,  25. 

I  the  Lord  do  keep  it 
[the  spiritual  vineyard]  lest 
any  hurt  it.  I  will  keep  it 
night  and  day,  Isa.  xxvii, 
3. 

I  will  give  them  a  heart 
of  flesh,  that  they  may 
walk  in  my  statutes,  Ezek. 
xi,  20. 


self  in  his  God,  1  Sam. 
XXX,  6.  They  that  wait 
on  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength,  Isa.  xl,  31. 

Cursed  is  the  man  that 
maketh  flesh  his  arm, 
Jer.  xvii,  5.  Cast  thy  bur- 
den upon  the  Lord,  and 
he  will  sustain  thee,  Psa. 
Iv,  22. 

Wash  ye,  make  you 
clean,  Isa.  i,  16.  O  Jeru- 
salem, wash  thy  heart 
from  wickedness,  that  thou 
mayest  be  saved,  Jer.  iv, 
14. 

Keep  thyself  pure,  1 
Tim.  V,  22.  Keep  thy 
heart  with  all  diligence, 
for  out  of  it  are  the  issues 
of  life,  Prov.  iv,  23. 

What  does  the  Lord  re- 
quire of  thee  but,  &c.,  to 
walk  humbly  with  thy 
God?  Micah  vi,  8.  And 
Enoch*  set  himself  to 
walk  with  God,  Gen.  v, 
24. 


*  The  word  in  the  original  is  in  the  conjugation  Hithpahel,  which 
signifies  to  cause  one's  self  to  do  a  thing.  Our  translation  does  not 
do  it  justice.  Nor  can  Zelotes  reasonably  object  to  the  meaning  of 
the  word  used  by  Moses,  unless  he  can  prove  that  Enoch  had  no 


204 


BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 


II. 


David  my  servant  shall 
be  king  over  them ;  and, 
(fee,  they  shall  walk  in 
my  judgments,  Ezekiel 
xxxvii,  24. 

For  we  are  his  work- 
manship, created  in  Christ 
Jesus  unto  the  good  works 
which  God  [by  his  word 
of  command,  by  providen- 
tial occurrences,  and  by 
secret  intimations  of  his 
wiU,  TspoijTOLnaaE^  hath  be- 
fore prepared,  that  we 
should  walk  in  them,  Eph. 
ii,  10. 


God  hath  saved  us,  and 
called  us  with  a  holy  call- 
ing ;  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  his 
own  purpose  and  grace, 
which  was  given  us  in 
Christ  before  the  world  be- 
gan, 2  Tim.  i,  9. 


He  that  saith  he  abideth 
in  him,  [God  manifested 
in  the  flesh,]  ought  him- 
self also  so  to  walk,  even 
as  he  walked,  1  John  ii,  6. 

And  as  many  as  walk 
according  to  this  rule,  peace 
be  on  them  and  mercy. 
Gal.  vi,  16.  That  they 
might  set  their  hope  in 
God,  &c.,  and  not  be  as 
their  fathers,  a  stubborn 
generation,  &c.,  that  set 
not  their  heart  aright, 
&c.,  and  refused  to  walk 
in  his  law.  But  as  for  me, 
I  will  walk  in  mine  in- 
tegrity, Psa.  Ixxviii,  7, 10 ; 
xxvi,  11. 

The  grace  of  God,  that 
bringeth  salvation,  hath 
appeared  unto  all  men, 
teaching  us  that  we  should 
live  soberly,  6oc.  Give 
diligence  to  make  your 
CALLING  sure.  How  shall 
we  escape  if  we  neglect  so 


hand,  and  no  foot,  in  his  walking  with  God ;  and  that  God  dragged 
him  as  if  he  had  been  a  passive  cart,  or  a  recoiling  cannon.  How- 
ever,  I  readily  grant  that  Enoch  did  not  set  himself  to  walk  with  God 
without  the  help  of  that  "  saving  grace  which  has  appeared  to  all 
men,"  and  which  so  many  "  receive  in  vain." 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


305 


I  will  give  them  a  heart 
to  know  me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord,  Jer.  xxiv,  7. 

I  will  put  ony  fear  in 
their  hearts,  Jer.  xxxii,  40. 


The  Lord  thy  God  will 
circumcise  thine  heart, 
Deut.  XXX,  6. 

/  ivill  put  my  law  in 
their  inward  parts,  and 
write  it  in  their  hearts, 
Jer.  xxxi,  33. 


We  love  him,  because 
he  first  loved  us,  1  John 
iv,  19. 

By  grace  ye  are  saved, 
through  faith;  and  that 
not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God,  Eph.  ii,  8. 
It  is  of  faith,  that  it  might 
be  by  grace,  Rom.  iv,  16. 


Not  for  thy  righteous- 


II. 

great  salvation?  Titus  ii, 
11,12;  2Pet.  i,  10;  Heb. 
ii,  3. 

Then  shall  we  know, 
if  we  follow  on  to  know 
the  Lord,  Hos.  vi,  3. 

They  shall  not  find  me, 
(fcc,  for  that  they  did  not 
choose  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  Prov.  i,  29. 

Circumcise,  therefore, 
the  foreskin  of  your  heart, 
Deut.  X,  16. 

Let  every  man  he  swift 
to  hear,  <fec.  Receive  icith 
meekness  the  ingrafted 
word,  which  is  able  to  save 
your  souls,  James  i,  19, 21. 
Thy  word  have  I  hid  in 
my  heart,  Psa.  cxix,  11. 

The  Father  loveth  you, 
because  ye  have  believed, 
John  xvi,  27. 

Believe,  &c.,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved,  Acts  xvi, 
31.  Receive  not  the  grace 
of  God  in  vain,  2  Cor.  vi, 
1 .  Looking  diligetitly  lest 
any  man  fail  of  [or  be 
wanting  to]  the  grace  of 
God,  Heb.  xii,  15. 

Inherit  the  kingdom^ 


206 


BEAUTIES    OF  FLETCHER. 


I. 


II. 


ness,  <fcc.,  dost  thou  go 
and  possess  their  land, 
Deut.  ix,  5. 

Not  of  works,  lest  any 
man  should  boast,  Eph. 
ii,  9. 

Thou  hast  hid  those 
things  from  the  tvise  and 
prudent,  [in  their  own 
eyes,]  and  revealed  them 
unto  babes,  Luke  x,  21. 


&.C.,  for  I  was  hungry,  and 
ye  gave  me  meat,  <fcc., 
Matt.  XXV,  34. 

Charge  them,  &c.,  to 
do  good,  &c.,  that  they 
may  lay  hold  on  eternal 
hfe,  1  Tim.  vi,  17,  &c. 

Who  is  wise,  and  he 
shall  understand  these 
things?  prudent,  and  he 
shall  know  them?  Hos. 
xiv,  9.  None  of  the  wick- 
ed shall  understand,  but 
the  wise  shall  understand, 
Dan.  xii,  10. 


If  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  balance  of  the  preceding 
scriptures  shows  that  Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism 
are  equally  unscriptural ;  the  harmonious  opposition  of 
those  passages  evincing,  (1.)  That  our  free  will  is 
subordinately  a  worker  with  God^s  free  grace  in  every 
thing  but  a  proper  atonem,ent  for  sin,  and  the  first 
implanting  of  the  hght  which  enlightens  every  man 
that  comes  into  the  world :  such  an  atonement  having 
been  fully  completed  by  Chrisfs  blood,  and  such  an 
implanting  being  entirely  performed  by  his  Spirit. 
(2.)  That  Honestus  is  most  dreadfully  mistaken,  when 
he  makes  next  to  nothing  of  free  grace  and  her  works. 
(3.)  That  Zelotes  obtrudes  a  most  dangerous  paradox 
upon  the  simple,  when  he  preaches ^wisAec?  salvation 
in  the  Crispian  sense  of  the  word.  And,  (4.)  That 
St.  Paul  speaks  as  the  oracles  of  God,  when  he  says, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  207 

"  God  worketh  in  you,  &c.,  therefore  work  ye  out  your 
own  salvation," 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  RATIONAL  AND  SCRIPTURAL  VIEW  OF  ST.  PAUL'S 
MEANING  IN  THE  NINTH  CHAPTER  OF  THE  EPIS- 
TLE  TO  THE  ROMANS. 

Reason  and  conscience  should  alone,  one  would 
think,  convince  us  that  St.  Paul,  in  Rom.  ix,  does  not 
plead  for  a  right  in  God  so  to  hate  any  of  his  un- 
formed creatures  as  to  intend,  make,  and  fit  them  for 
destruction,  merely  to  show  his  absolute  sovereignty 
and  irresistible  power.  The  apostle  knew  too  well 
the  God  of  love  to  represent  him  as  a  mighty  pot- 
ter, who  takes  an  unaccountable  pleasure  to  form  ra- 
tional vessels,  and  to  endue  them  with  keen  sensibility, 
only  to  have  the  glory  of  absolutely  filling  them,  by  the 
help  of  Adam,  with  sin  and  wickedness  on  earth,  and 
then  with  fire  and  brimstone  in  hell.  This  is  the  con- 
ceit of  the  consistent  admirers  of  unconditional  election 
and  rejection,  who  build  it  chiefly  upon  Rom.  ix. 
Should  you  ask  why  they  fix  so  dreadful  a  meaning  on 
that  portion  of  Scripture,  I  answer,  that  through  inat- 
tention and  prejudice  they  overlook  the  two  keys  which 
the  apostle  gives  us  to  open  his  meaning,  one  of  which 
we  find  in  the  first  three,  and  the  other  in  the  last  three 
verses  of  that  perverted  chapter. 

In  the  first  three  verses  St.  Paul  expresses  the  "continual 
sorrow"  which  he  "had  in  his  heart"  for  the  obstinacy  of 
his  countrymen,  the  Jews,  who  so  depended  upon  their 
national  prerogatives,  as  Jews ;  their  church  privileges, 


208  BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 

as  children  of  Abraham ;  and  thek  Pharisaic  right- 
eousness of  the  law,  as  observers  of  the  Mosaic  ceremo- 
nies, that  they  detested  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  if  the  apostle  had  believed  that 
God,  by  a  wise  decree  of  preterition,  had  irreversibly 
ordained  them  to  eternal  death  "  to  illustrate  his  glory  by 
their  damnation,"  £is  Calvin  says,  how  ridiculous  would 
it  have  been  in  him  to  sorrow  night  and  day  about  the 
execution  of  God's  wise  design  !  If  God,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  had  absolutely  determined  to  make 
the  unbelieving  Jews  personally  and  absolutely  vessels 
of  wrath,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  sovereign  free 
wrath,  how  wicked  would  it  have  been  in  St.  Paul  to 
begin  the  next  chapter  by  saying,  "  My  heart's  desire 
and  prayer  to  God  for  unbelieving  Israel,  for  the  ob- 
stinate Jews,  is  that  they  might  be  saved  !"  Would  he 
not  rather  have  meekly  submitted  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  said,  Uke  EU,  "  It  is  the  Lord :  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good  ?"  Did  it  become  him — nay,  was  it 
not  next  to  rebellion  in  him,  so  passionately  to  set  his 
heart  against  a  decree  made  (as  we  are  told)  on  purpose 
to  display  the  absoluteness  of  divine  sovereignty?  And 
would  not  the  Jews  have  retorted  his  own  words ! 
"  Who  art  thou,  O  vain  man,  that  repliest  against  God" 
by  wishing  night  and  day  the  salvation  of  "  vessels  of 
wrath :"  of  men  whom  he  hath  absolutely  set  apart  for 
destruction  ? 

"  But  if  the  apostle  did  not  intend  to  establish  the 
absolute,  personal  preterition  of  the  rejected  Jews  and 
their  fellow  reprobates,  what  could  he  mean  by  that 
mysterious  chapter  ?"  I  reply :  He  meant  in  general 
to  vindicate  God's  conduct  in  casting  off  the  Jews,  and 
adopting  the  Gentiles.     This  deserves  some  explana- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  209 

tion.  When  St.  Paul  insinuated  to  the  Jews  that  they 
were  rejected  as  a  church  and  people,  and  that  the  un- 
circumcised  Gentiles  (even  as  many  as  beheved  on  Jesus 
of  Nazareth)  were  now  the  chosen  nation,  "  the  pecu- 
har  people,"  and  church  of  God,  his  countrymen  were 
greatly  offended :  and  yet,  as  "  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles," to  "  provoke  the  Jews  to  jealousy,"  he  was  obliged 
peculiarly  to  enforce  this  doctrine  among  them.  They 
generally  gave  him  audience  till  he  touched  upon  it. 
But  when  he  "  waxed  bold,"  and  told  them  plainly  that 
Christ  had  bid  him  "depart  from  Jerusalem,"  as  from 
an  accursed  city ;  and  had  "  sent  him  far  thence  unto 
the  Gentiles,"  they  could  contain  themselves  no  longer ; 
and  "  Ufting  up  tlieir  voices,  they  said.  Away  with  such 
a  fellow  from  the  earth,"  Acts  xiii,  46  ;  xxii,  21.* 

When  St.  Paul  wrote  to  Rome,  the  metropolis  of  the 
Gentile  world,  where  there  were  a  great  many  Jews, 
the  Holy  Ghost  directed  him  to  clear  up  the  question 
concerning  the  general  election  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
general  rejection  of  the  Jews.  And  this  he  did,  both 
for  the  comfort  of  the  humble,  Gentile  believers,  and  for 

*It  is  remarkable  that  Jewish  rage  first  broke  out  against  our 
Lord  when  he  touched  their  great  Diana — the  doctrine  of  their  ab- 
solute  election.  You  think,  said  he,  to  be  saved,  merely  because 
you  are  Abraham's  children,  and  God's  chosen,  peculiar  people. 
"  But  I  tell  you  of  a  truth,"  God  is  not  so  partial  to  Israel  as  you 
suppose.  "  Many  widows  were  in  Israel  in  the  days  of  Elias,  but  to 
none  of  them  was  Elias  sent,  but  to  a  Zidonian  [heathen]  widow. 
And  many  lepers  were  in  Israel  in  the  days  of  Elisha,  yet  none  of 
them  was  cleansed  save  Naaman  the  Syrian,"  Luke  iv,  25,  &c.  The 
Jews  never  forgave  our  Lord  that  levelling  saying.  If  he  narrowly 
escaped  their  fury  at  Nazareth,  it  was  only  to  meet  it  increased  se- 
venfold in  the  holy  city.  So  fierce  and  implacable  are  the  tempers  to 
which  some  professors  work  up  themselves,  by  drinking  into  un. 
scriptural  notions  of  election  I 


210  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

the  humiliation  of  his  proud,  self-elected  countrymen ; 
that,  being  provoked  to  jealousy,  they,  or  at  least  some 
of  them,  might  with  the  Gentiles  make  their  personal 
calling  and  election  sure  by  believing  in  Christ,     As  the 
Jews  were  generally  incensed  against  him,  and  he  had 
a  most  disagreeable  truth  to  write,  he  dips  his  pen  in 
the  oil  of  brotherly  love,  and  begins  the  chapter  by  a  most 
awful  protestation  of  his  tender  attachment  to  them,  and 
sorrowful  concern  for  their  salvation,  hoping  that  this 
would  soften  them,  and  reconcile  their  prejudiced  minds. 
But  if  he  had  represented  them  as  absolute  reprobates, 
and  vessels  of  wrath  irreversibly  ordained  of  God  to 
destruction,  he  would  absurdly  have  defeated  his  own 
design,  and  exasperated  them  more  than  ever  against 
his  doctrine  and  his  person.     To  suppose  that  he  told 
them  with  one  breath,  he  wished  to  be  accursed  from 
Christ  for  them,  and  with  the  next  breath  insinuated 
that  God  had  absolutely  accursed  them  with  uncondi- 
tional, personal  reprobation,  is  a  notion  so  excessively- 
big  with  absurdity,  that  at  times  Zelotes  himself  can 
scarcely  swallow  it  down.     Who  indeed  can  believe 
that  St.  Paul  made  himself  so  ridiculous  as  to  weep  tears 
of  the  most  ardent  love  over  the  free  wrath  of  his  rep- 
robating Creator  ?     Who  can  imagine  that  the  pious 
apostle  painted  out  "  the  God  of  all  grace,"  as  a  God 
full  of  immortal  hatred  to  most  of  his  countrymen : 
while  he  represented  himself  as  a  person  continually 
racked  with  the  tenderest  feeUngs  of  a  matchless  affec- 
tion for  them  all ;  thus  impiously  raising  his  own  repu- 
tation, as  a  henevoleiit  man,  upon  the  ruins  of  the 
reputation  of  his  malevolent  God  ? 

Come  we  now  to  the  middle  part  of  the  chapter.   St. 
Paul,  having  prepared  the  Jews  for  the  disagreeable 


BEAUTIES  OP  FLETCHER.  211 

message  which  he  was  about  to  deliver,  begins  to  at- 
tack their  Pharisaic  prejudices  concerning  their  absolute 
right,  as  children  of  Abraham,  to  be  God's  church  and 
people,  exclusively  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  whom  they 
looked  upon  as  reprobated  dogs  of  the  Gentiles.  To 
drive  the  unbelieving  Jews  out  of  this  sheltering  place, 
he  indirectly  advances  two  doctrines :  (1.)  That  God, 
as  the  Creator  and  supreme  Benefactor  of  men,  may  do 
what  he  pleases  with  his  peculiar  favours;  and  that 
he  had  now  as  indubitable  a  right  freely  to  give  five 
Jlalents  of  church  privileges  to  the  Gentiles,  as  he  had 
once  to  bestow  three  talents  of  church  privileges  upon 
the  Jews.  And,  (2.)  That  God  had  as  much  right  to 
set  the  seal  of  his  wrath  upon  them,  as  upon  Pharaoh 
himself,  if  they  continued  to  imitate  the  inflexibleness 
of  that  proud  unbeliever ;  inexorable  unbelief  being  the 
sin  that  Jits  men  for  destruction,  and  pulls  down  the 
tcrath  of  God  upon  the  children  of  disobedience. 

The  first  of  those  doctrines  he  proves  by  a  reasona- 
ble appeal  to  conscience:  (1.)  Concerning  the  absurdity 
of  replying  against  God,  i.  e.,  against  a  being  of  in- 
finite wisdom,  goodness,  justice,  and  power.  And 
(2.)  Concerning  a  right  which  a  potter  has  of  the 
same  "  lump  of  clay"  to  make  one  vessel  for*  honoura- 

*  I  have  lived  these  fifteen  years  in  a  part  of  England  where  a 
multitude  of  potters  make  all  manner  of  iron  and  earthen  vessels. 
Some  of  these  mechanics  are  by  no  means  conspicuous  for  good 
sense,  and  others  are  at  times  besotted  through  excessive  drinking ; 
but  I  never  yet  saw  or  heard  of  one  so  excessively  foolish  as  to 
make,  even  in  a  drunken  fit,  a  vessel  on  purpose  to  break  it,  to 
show  that  he  had  power  over  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  Such, 
however,  is  the  folly  that  Zelotes'  scheme  imputes  to  God.  Nay, 
if  a  potter  makes  vessels  on  purpose  to  break  them,  he  is  only  a 
fool ;  but  if  he  could  make  sensible  vessels  like  dogs,  and  formed 
them  on  purpose  to  roast  them  alive,  and  that  he  might  show  his 


313  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ble,  and  another  for  comparatively  dishonourable  uses. 
The  argument  carries  conviction  along  with  it.  Were 
utensils  capable  of  thought,  the  basin,  in  which  our 
Lord  washed  his  disciples'  feet,  (a  comparatively  dis- 
honourable use,)  could  never  reasonably  complain  that 
the  potter  had  not  made  it  the  cup  in  which  Christ  con- 
secrated the  sacramental  wine.  By  a  parity  of  reason, 
the  king's  soldiers  and  servants  cannot  justly  be  dis- 
satisfied because  he  has  not  made  them  all  generals 
and  prime  ministers.  And  what  reason  had  the  Jews 
to  complain  that  God  put  the  Gentiles  on  a  level  with, 
or  even  above  them  ?  May  he  not,  without  being  ar- 
raigned at  the  bar  of  slothful  servants,  who  have  buried 
their  talents,  give  a  peculiar,  extraordinary  blessing 
when  he  pleases,  and  to  whom  he  pleases  ?  "  Shall 
the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it,  Why 
hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?"  Shall  the  foot  say,  Why 
am  I  not  the  head  ?  and  the  knee.  Why  am  I  not  the 
shoulder  ?  Or,  to  allude  to  the  parable  of  the  labour- 
ers. If  God  chooses  to  hire  the  Gentiles,  and  send  them 
into  his  favourite  vineyard,  blessing  thera  with  church 
privileges  as  he  did  the  Jews ;  shall  the  eye  of  the  Jews 
"  be  evil  because  God  is  good"  to  these  newly  hired  la- 
bourers T  "  May  he  not  do  what  he  pleases  with  his 
own?" 

To  this  rational  argument  St.  Paul  adds  another  {ad 
hominem)  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  Jews,  who  supposed 
it  a  kind  of  sacrilege  to  deny  that,  as  children  of  Abra- 

sovereign  power,  would  you  not  execrate  his  cruelty  as  much  as  you 
would  pity  his  madness  ?  But,  what  would  you  think  of  the  man  if 
he  made  five  or  ten  such  vessels  for  absolute  destruction,  while  he 
made  one  for  absolute  salvation,  and  then  assumed  the  title  of  gra- 
cious  and  merciful  potter,  and  called  his  potting  schemes  "  schemes 
of  grace  ?" 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  213 

ham,  they  were  absolutely  "  the  chosen  nation,"  and 
"  the  temple  of  the  Lord."  To  convince  them  that  God 
was  not  so  partial  to  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  as  they  imagined,  the  apostle  reminds  them 
that  God  had  excluded  the  first-born  of  those  favoured 
patriarchs  from  the  peculiar  blessings  which  by  birth- 
right belonged  to  them :  doing  it  sometimes  on  account 
of  the  sin  of  those  first-born,  and  sometimes  previously 
to  any  personal  demerit  of  theirs,  that  he  might  show 
that  his  purpose,  according  to  election  to  peculiar  privi- 
leges and  church  prerogatives,  does  "not  stand  of  works, 
but  of  him  that"  chooseth,  and  "  calleth"  of  his  sove- 
reign, distinguishing  grace.  St.  Paul  confirms  this  part 
of  his  doctrine  by  the  instance  of  Ishmael  and  Isaac, 
who  were  both  sons  of  Abraham:  God  having  preferred 
Isaac  to  Ishmael,  because  Isaac  was  the  child  of  his 
own  promise,  and  of  Abraham's  faith  by  Sarah,  a  free 
woman,  who  was  a  type  of  grace  and  the  gospel  of 
Christ :  whereas  Ishmael  was  only  the  child  of  Abra- 
ham's natural  strength  by  Agar,  an  Egyptian  bonds- 
woman, who  was  a  type  of  nature  and  the  Mosaic 
dispensation. 

With  peculiar  wisdom  the  apostle  dwells  upon  the  still 
more  striking  instance  of  Isaac's  sons,  Esau  and  Jacob, 
who  had  not  only  the  same  godly  father,  but  the  same 
free  and  pious  mother ;  the  younger  of  whom  was  nev- 
ertheless preferred  to  the  elder  without  any  apparent 
reason.  He  leaves  the  Jews  to  think  how  much  more 
this  might  be  the  case  when  there  is  an  apparent  cause, 
as  in  the  case  of  Reuben,  Simeon,  and  Levi,  Jacob's 
three  eldest  sons,  who,  through  incest,  treachery,  and 
murder,  forfeited  the  blessing  of  the  first  born ;  a  bless- 
ing this  which  by  that  forfeiture  devolved  on  Judah, 


214  BEATTTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 

Jacob's  fourth  son,  whose  tribe  became  the  first  and 
most  powerful  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  had  of 
consequence  the  honour  of  producing  the  Messiah,  "  the 
Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah."  St.  Paul's  argument  is 
masterly,  and  runs  thus : — If  God  has  again  and  again 
excluded  some  of  Abraham's  posterity  from  the  blessing 
<»f  the  peculiar  covenant,  which  he  made  with  that  pa- 
triarch concerning  the  "promised  seed;" — if  he  said, 
*'In  Isaac,"  Jacob,  and  Judah,  "shall  thy  seed  [the 
Messiah]  be  called,"  and  not  in  Ishmael,  Esau,  and 
Reuben,  the  first-born  sons  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Ja- 
cob; how  absurd  is  it  in  the  Jews  to  suppose  that 
merely  because  they  are  descended  from  Abraham, 
IsEiac,  and  Jacob,  they  shall  absolutely  share  the  bless- 
ings of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  ?  If  God  excluded  from 
the  birthright  Ishmael  the  scoffer,  Esau  the  seller  of  his 
birthright,  and  Reuben  the  defiler  of  Bilhah,  his  father's 
wife,  why  might  not  Israel,  (his  son  called  out  of 
Egypt,)  his  first-born  among  nations,  forfeit  his  birth- 
right through  unbelief?  And  why  should  not  the  Gen- 
tile world,  God's  prodigal  son,  inherit  the  blessing  of  the 
first-born,  if  they  submitted  to  the  obedience  of  faith, 
and,  with  the  younger  son  in  the  parable,  returned  from 
"the  far  country"  to  their  father's  house;  while  the 
elder  son  insolently  quarrelled  with  God,  reproached  his 
brother,  absolutely  refused  to  come  in,  and  thus  made 
his  calling  void,  and  his  reprobation  sure  ? 

The  apostle's  argument  is  like  a  two-edged  sword. 
With  one  edge  he  cuts  down  the  bigotry  of  the  Jews, 
by  the  above-mentioned  appeals  to  the  history  of  their 
forefathers ;  and  with  the  other  edge  he  strikes  at  their 
unbelief,  by  an  appeal  to  the  destruction  of  Pharaoh  ; 
insinuating  that  God  as  Maker,  Preserver,  and  Go- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  216 

vernor  of  men,  has  an  undoubted  right  to  fix  the  gra- 
cious or  righteous  terras  on  which  he  will  finally 
bestow  salvation,  or  inflict  damnation  on  his  rational 
creatures. 

With  the  greatest  propriety  St.  Paul  brings  in  Pha- 
raoh, to  illustrate  the  odious  nature,  fatal  consequences, 
and  dreadful  punishment  of  unbelief  No  example  was 
better  known,  or  could  be  more  striking  to  the  Jews. 
They  had  been  taught  from  their  infancy,  with  how 
"  much  long-suffering"  God  had  "  endured"  that  noto- 
.rious  unbeliever ;  "  raising  him  up,"  supporting  him, 
and  bearing  with  his  insolence  day  after  day,  even  after 
he  had  fitted  himself  for  destruction.  They  had  been 
informed  that  the  Lord  had  often  reprieved  ihdX  father 
of  the  faithless^  that,  in  case  he  again  and  again 
hardened  himself,  (as  Omniscience  saw  he  would  do,) 
he  might  be  again  and  again  scourged,  till  the  madness 
of  his  infideUty  should  drive  him  into  the  very  jaws  of 
destruction ;  God  having  on  purpose  spared  him,  yea,* 
"  raised  him  up"  after  every  plague,  that  if  he  refused 
to  yield,  he  might  be  made  a  more  conspicuous  monu- 
ment of  divine  vengeance,  and  be  more  gloriously  over- 
thrown by  matchless  power.    So  should  "  God's  name," 

*  Is  it  not  strange  that  Zelotes  should  infer,  from  this  expression, 
that  God  had  originally  "  raised  up,"  that  is,  created  Pharaoh,  on 
purpose  to  damn  him  ?  Is  it  not  evident  that  Pharaoh  justly  looked 
upon  every  plague  as  a  death  ?  Witness  his  own  words,  "  Intreat 
the  Lord  your  God  that  he  may  take  away  from  me  this  death  only," 
Exod.  X,  17.  And  if  every  plague  was  a  death  to  Pharaoh,  was  not 
every  removal  of  a  plague  a  kind  of  resurrection,  a  raising  him  up, 
together  with  his  kingdom,  from  a  state  of  destruction,  according  to 
these  words  of  the  Egyptians,  "  Knowest  thou  not  yet  that  Egypt  is 
destroyed  ?"  How  reasonable  and  Scriptural  is  this  sense  !  How 
dreadful,  I  had  almost  said,  how  diabolical,  is  that  of  Zelotes ! 


216  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

i.  e.j  his  adorable  perfections  and  righteous  proceedings, 
"  be  declared  throughout  all  the  earth."  And  so  should 
unbelief  appear  to  all  the  world  in  its  own  odious  and 
infernal  colours. 

St.  Paul  having  thus  indirectly,  and  with  his  usual 
prudence  and  brevity,  given  a  double  stab  to  the  bigotry 
of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  who  fancied  themselves  uncon- 
ditionally elected,  and  whom  he  had  represented  as 
conditionally  reprobated ;  lest  they  should  mistake  his 
meaning  as  Zelotes  does,  he  concludes  the  chapter  thus : 
"  What  shall  we  say  then  ?"  What  is  the  inference 
which  I  draw  from  the  preceding  arguments?  One 
which  is  obvious,  namely,  this :  "  That  the  Gentiles, 
[typified  by  Jacob  the  younger  brother,]  who  followed 
not  professedly  after  righteousness,  have  attained  to 
righteousness,  even  the  Christian  righteousness  which 
is  of  faith.  But  Israel,"  or  the  Jews,  who  professedly 
"  followed  after  the  law  of  Mosaic  righteousness,  [as 
the  sportsman  Esau  did  after  his  game,]  have  not  at- 
tained to  the  law  of  Mosaic  or  Christian  righteous- 
ness :"  they  are  neither  justified  as  Jews,  nor  sanctified 
as  Christians.  "  True ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  God 
had  absolutely  passed  them  by  from  all  eternity,  that 
he  might  in  time  make  them  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  for 
destruction."  So  insinuates  Zelotes.  But  happily  for 
the  honour  of  the  gospel,  St.  Paul  declares  just  the  re- 
verse. "  Wherefore,"  says  he,  "  did  not  the  reprobated 
Jews  attain  to  righteousness?"  To  open  the  eyes  of 
Zelotes,  if  any  thing  will,  he  answers  his  own  question 
thus :  "  Because  they  sought  it  not  hy  faith,  but  as  it 
were  by  the  external  works  of  the  Mosaic  law"  opposed 
to  Christian  faith.  "  For  they  stumbled  at  that  stum- 
bling stone,"  Christ,  who  is  "  a  rock  of  offence"  to  un- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  217 

believers,  and  "  the  rock  of  ages"  to  believers.  "  As  it  is 
vi^ritten,  Behold  I  lay  in  Zion  a  rock,"  that  some  shall, 
through  their  obstinate  unbelief,  make  "  a  rock  of  of- 
fence." And  others,  through  their  humble  faith,  a 
rocky  foundation,  according  to  the  decrees  of  condi- 
tional reprobation  and  election :  "  He  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned, — and  whosoever  believeth  on  him 
shall  not  be  ashamed,"  Rom.  ix,  1-33  ;  Mark  xvi,  16. 

That  Zelotes  should  mistake  the  apostle's  meaning, 
when  it  is  so  clearly  fixed  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
phapter,  is  unaccountable :  but  that  he  should  support 
by  it  his  pecuUar  notion  of  absolute  reprobation  is  really 
astonishing.  The  unbelieving  Jews  are  undoubtedly 
the  persons  whom  the  apostle  had  first  in  view  when 
he  asserted  God's  right  of  appointing  that  obstinate  un- 
believers shall  be  "  vessels  of  wrath."  But  hear  what 
he  said  of  those  reprobated  Jews  to  the  elected 
Gentiles,  in  the  very  next  chapter  but  one.  "  I  speak 
to  you  Gentiles,  (fee,  if  hy  any  means  I  may  provoke 
to  emulation  them  that  are  my  flesh  [the  Jews]  and 
might  save  some  of  them.  If  some  of  the  branches 
[the  unbelieving  Jews]  be  broken  off,  (fee,  because  of 
unbelief  they  were  broken  off,  and  thou  [beheving 
Gentile]  standest  by  faith.  Be  not  high-minded,  but 
fear.  For  if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  take 
heed  lest  he  also  spare  not  thee,  (fee.  Continue  in  his 
goodness,  otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  off,"  and 
treated  as  a  vessel  of  wrath.  "  And  they  also,  if  they 
abide  not  still  in  unbelief  shall  be  grafted  in,"  and 
treated  as  vessels  of  mercy,  Rom.  xi,  13,  (fee. 

But  what  need  is  there  of  going  to  Rom.  xi,  to  show 
the  inconsistency  of  the  Calvinistic  doctrines  of  free 
grace  in  Christ  and  free  wrath  in  Adam  ?   of  everlast- 

10 


218  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ing  love  to  some  and  everlasting  hate  to  others  ?  Does 
not  Rom.  ix  itself  afford  us  another  powerful  antidote? 
If  the  elect  were  from  eternity  God's  beloved  people, 
while  the  non-elect  were  the  devil's  people,  hated  of 
their  Maker :  and  if  God's  love  and  hatred  are  equally 
unchangeable,  whether  free  agents  change  from  holi- 
ness to  sin,  or  from  sin  to  holiness;  what  shall  we 
make  of  these  words  ?  "  I  will  call  them  my  people 
which  were  not  my  people ;  and  her  beloved  which  was 
not  beloved.  And  where  it  was  said  unto  them.  Ye  are 
not  my  people :  there  [upon  their  believing]  shall  they 
be  called  the  children  of  God,"  Rom.  ix,  25,  26.  What 
a  golden  key  is  here  to  open  our  doctrine  of  conditional 
election,  and  to  shut  Zelotes'  doctrine  of  absolute  repro- 
bation ! 

Having  thus  given  a  general  view  of  what  appears 
to  me,  from  conscience,  reason,  Scripture,  and  the  con- 
text, to  be  St.  Paul's  meaning  in  that  deep  chapter ;  I 
present  the  reader  with  a  particular  and  Scriptural 
explanation  of  some  passages  in  it  which  do  not  puzzle 
Honestus  a  little,  and  by  which  Zelotes  supports  the 
doctrines  of  bound  will  and  free  wrath  with  some  plau- 
sibility. 

I.  II. 

It  is  not  [primarily]  of  Ye  will  not  come  to  me 
him  that  loilleth,  [in  God's  that  you  might  have  life, 
way,]  nor  is  it  [at  all]  of  John  v,  40.  Whosoever 
him  that  willeth,  [in  oppo-  will,  let  him  come.  Rev. 
sition  to  God's  will,  as  the  xxii,  17.  I  have  set  before 
self-righteous  Jews  did,]  you  life  and  death,  <fcc., 
Rom.  ix,  16.  choose^  Deut.  xxx,  19.     I 

would,  (fee,  and  ye  would 
not,  Luke  xiii,  34. 


BEAUTIES  O?  FLETCHER. 


219 


I. 


It  is  not  [primarily]  of 
him  that  runneth^  but*  of 
God  that  showeth  mercy^ 
Rom.  ix,  16. 


[EXcj/ffu]  I  will  have  mer- 
cy on  whom  I  will  [or  ra- 
ther eAew,  /  should\  have 
mercy ^  Rom.  ix,  15. 


\OiKreipriaii\    I  will    have 

compassion  on  whom  I  will 


II. 


i  went,  <fcc.,  lest  by  any 
means  I  should  run  or  had 
run  in  vai7i,  Gal.  ii,  2.  So 
run  that  [through  mercy] 
you  may  obtain,  1  Cor.  ix, 
24. 

Whoso  forsaketh  his  sin 
shall  have  meixy,  Prov. 
xxviii,  13.  Let  the  wicked 
forsake  his  way,  and,  <fec., 
the  Lord  will  have  mercy 
upon  him,  Isa.  Iv,  7.  He 
shall  have  judgment  with- 
out mercy  that  hath  show- 
ed no  mercy,  James  ii,  13. 
All  the  paths  of  the  Lord 
are  mercy  to  such  as  keep 
his  covenant,  Psalm  xxv, 
10. 

As  the  heaven  is  high 
above  the  earth ;  so  great 


*  In  familiar  and  Scripture  language  the  effect  is  frequently 
ascribed  to  the  chief  cause ;  while,  for  brevity's  sake,  inferior  causes 
or  agents  are  passed  over  in  silence.  Thus  David  says,  »'  Except 
the  Lord  build  the  house,  their  labour  is  but  vain  that  build  it." 
St.  Paul  says,  "  I  laboured,  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God."  And 
we  say,  ♦'  Admiral  Hawke  has  beat  the  French  fleet."  Would  it 
not  be  absurd  in  Zelotes  to  strain  these  expressions  so  as  to  make 
absolutely  nothing  of  the  mason's  work  in  the  building  of  a  house  ; 
of  the  apostle's  preaching  in  the  conversion  of  those  Gentiles ;  and 
of  the  bravery  of  the  officers  and  sailors  in  the  victory  got  over  the 
French  by  the  English  admiral  ?  It  is,  nevertheless,  upon  such  fri. 
volous  conclusions  as  these  that  Zelotes  generally  rests  the  enormous 
weight  of  his  peculiar  doctrinea. 


220  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

I.  n. 

[or  rather  oiKretpu,  I  should]  is  his  mercy  toward  them 
have  compassion,  Romans  that  fear  him,  Psalm  ciii, 
ix  15.  11.     The  things  that  be- 

long to  thy  peace  are  hid 
from  thine  eyes,  <fcc.,  because  thou  knewest  not  the 
time  of  thy  visitation,  Luke  xix,  44.     How  is  it  that 
ye  do  not  discern  this  time,  yea,  and  why  even  of  your- 
selves judge  ye  not  what  is  right  ?    Luke  xii,  56,  57. 
Hear,  O  heavens,  &c.,  I  have  nourished  children,  and 
they  have  rebelled  against  me.     The  ox  knoweth  his 
owner,  <fcc.,  but  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth 
not  consider.     It  is  a  people  of  no  understanding; 
therefore  he  that  formed  them  will  show  them  no 
favour,  Isa.  i,  3 ;  xxvii,  11.     And  God  said  to  Solo- 
mon, Because  thou  hast  asked  for  thyself  understand- 
ing, &c.,  lo,  I  have  given  thee  a  wise  and  understand- 
ing heart,  1  Kings  iii,  11, 12.     Because  he  considereth, 
&c.,  he  shall  not  die,— he  shall  surely  live,  Ezek.  xviii, 
28.    [Who  can  help  seeing,  through  this  cloud  of  scrip- 
tures, that  "  God  has  mercy  on  whom  he  should  have 
mercy,"  according  to  his  divine  attributes;  extending 
initial  mercy  to  all,  according  to  his  long-suffering  and 
impartiality ;  and  showing  eternal  mercy,  according  to 
his  holiness  and  truth,  to  them  that  use  and  improve 
their  talent  of  understanding,  so  as  to  love  him  and 
keep  his  commandments?] 

I.  II. 

The  children  being  not  Thus  saith  the  Lord, — 
yet  born,  neither  having  Did  I  plainly  appear  to  the 
done  any  good  or  evil,  that  house  of  thy  father,  &c., 
the  purpose  of  God  accord-  and  did  I  choose  him  out 
ing  to  election  might  stand    of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  to 


BEAUTIES   OF    FLETCHER. 


231 


II. 

be  my  priest,  &c.  Why 
kick  ye  at  my  sacrifice? 
Wherefore  the  Lord  God 
saith,  /  said  indeed  that 
thy  house  should  walk  be- 
fore me  for  ever.  But  now 
the  Lord  saith,  Be  it  far 
from  me;  for  them  that 
honour  me  I  will  honour ; 
and  they  that  despise  me 
shall  be  lightly  esteemed, 
1  Sam.  ii,  27,  <fcc.  Again : 
the  Lord  said  to  Samuel, 
[I  have  not  chosen,]  I  have 
refused  him,  [Eliab,]  for 
the  Lord  seeth  not  as  man 
seeth :  the  Ijord  looketh  at 
the  heart  [and  chooseth  in 
consequence :  accordingly, 
when]  "  Jesse  made  seven 
of  his  sons  to  pass  before 

*  Mr.  Henry  says  with  great  truth,  "  All  this  choosing"  of  Jacob 
and  refusing  of  Esau  "  was  typical,  and  intended  to  shadow  forth 
some  other  election  and  rejection."  And  although  he  was  a  Cal- 
vinist,  he  does,  in  many  respects,  justice  to  St.  Paul's  meaning. 
•'  This  difference,"  says  he,  "  that  was  put  between  Jacob  and  Esau, 
he  [the  apostle]  farther  illustrates  by  a  quotation  from  Mai.  i,  2, 
where  it  is  said,  not  of  Jacob  and  Esau  the  persons,  but  the  Edom. 
ites  and  Israelites  their  posterity :  '  Jacob  have  I  loved,  and  Esau 
have  I  hated.'  The  people  of  Israel  were  taken  into  the  covenant 
of  peculiarity,  had  the  land  of  Canaan  given  them,  were  blessed  with 
the  more  signal  appearances  of  God  lor  them  in  special  protection, 
supplies,  and  deliverances,  while  the  Edomites  were  rejected,  [from 
the  covenant  of  peculiarity,]  had  no  temple,  altars,  priests,  prophets ; 


not  of  works,  but  of  him 
that  calleth  [i.  e.,  that  God 
might  show,  he  may  and 
will  choose  some  of  Abra- 
ham's posterity  to  some 
peculiar  privileges  which 
he  does  not  confer  upon 
others :  and  likewise  to 
teach  us  that  grace  and 
the  new  man  mystically 
typified  by  Jacob  shall 
have  the  reward  of  the  in- 
heritance,— a  reward  this, 
which  fallen  nature  and 
the  old  man,  mystically 
typified  by  Esau,  shall 
never  receive :  to  teach  us 
this]  it  was  said  to  Rebec- 
ca, The  elder  shall  serve 
the  younger :  [in  his  poste- 
rity,* though  not  in  his  per- 


223  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER, 

I.  n. 

son :]  that  is,  the  younger    the   Lord,    Samuel    said, 
shall  have  the  blessing  of     The  Lord  hath  not  chosen 

BO  such  particular  care  of  them,  &c.  Others  understand  it  of  the 
election  and  rejection  of  particular  persons ;  some  loved  and  others 
hated  from  eternity.  But  the  apostle  speaks  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  not 
in  their  own  persons,  but  as  ancestors :  Jacob  the  people  and  Esau 
the  people :  nor  doth  God  damn  any,  or  decree  so  to  do,  merely 
because  he  will  do  it,  without  any  reason  taken  from  their  own  de- 
serts, &c.  The  choosing  of  Jacob  the  younger  was  to  intimate  that 
the  Jews,  though  the  natural  seed  of  Abraham,  and  the  firsUbom  of 
the  church,  should  be  laid  aside :  and  the  Gentiles,  who  were  as  the 
younger  brother,  should  be  taken  in  their  stead,  and  have  the  birth- 
right  and  blessing."  He  concludes  his  comment  upon  the  whole 
chapter  by  these  words,  which  exactly  answer  to  the  double  key  I 
have  given  to  the  reader :  "  Upon  the  whole  matter  the  unbelieving 
Jews  have  no  reason  to  quarrel  with  God  for  rejecting  them :  they 
had  a/otV  offer  of  righteousness,  and  life,  and  salvation,  made  upon 
gospel  terms,  which  they  did  not  like,  and  would  not  come  up  to ; 
and  therefore  if  they  perish  they  may  thank  themselves.  Their 
blood  is  upon  their  own  heads." 

What  precedes  is  pure  truth,  and  strongly  confirms  my  doctrine. 
But  what  follows  is  pure  Calvinism,  and  shows  the  inconsistency  of 
the  most  judicious  writers  in  that  scheme.  "  Were  the  Jews  hard- 
ened  ?  It  was  because  it  was  his  own  (God's)  pleasure  to  deny  them 
Boftening  grace,  &c.  Two  sorts  of  vessels  God  forms  out  of  the 
great  lump  of  fallen  mankind  :  (1.)  •  Vessels  of  wrath  :'  vessels  filled 
•with  wrath,  as  a  vessel  of  wine  is  a  vessel  filled  with  wine,  '  full 
of  the  fury  of  the  Lord,'  «fcc.  (2.)  '  Vessels  of  mercy,'  filled  with 
mercy."  And  again:  "he  (the  apostle)  answers  by  resolving  all 
into  the  divine  sovereignty.  We  are  the  thing  formed,  and  he  is  the 
former,  and  it  does  not  become  us  to  challenge  or  arraign  his  wisdom 
in  ordering  and  disposing  of  us  into  this  or  that  shape  or  figure." 
That  is,  in  plain  English,  free  wrath,  or,  to  speak  smoothly  as  a 
Calvinist,  divine  sovereignty  may  order  and  dispose  us  into  the  shape 
of  vessels  of  wrath  before  we  have  done  either  good  or  evil.  How 
could  Mr.  Henry  thus  contradict  himself,  and  write  for  and  against 
truth  ?  Why,  he  was  a  moderate  Calvinist :  as  moderate,  he  wrote 
glorious  truths;  and,  as  a  Calvinist,  horrid  insinuations. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


223 


I. 

the  first-born.  And  it  was 
accordingly  conferred  upon 
Jacob  in  these  words,  Be 
lord  over  thy  brethren, 
Gen.  xxvii,  29.  To  con- 
clude, therefore,  from  Ja- 
cob's superior  blessing,  that 
Esau  was  absolutely  cursed 
and  reprobated  of  God,  is 
as  absurd  as  to  suppose 
that  Manasseh,  Joseph's 
eldest  son,  was  also  an  ab- 
solute reprobate,  because 
Ephraim,  his  younger  bro- 
ther, had  Jacob's  chief  bless- 
ing: for  the  old  patriarch 
refusing  to  put  his  right 
hand  upon  the  head  of 
Manasseh,  said,  "  Truly 
his  younger  brother  shall 
be  greater  than  /ie,"  Gen. 
xlviii,  19.  But  would  Ze- 
lotes  himself  infer  from 
such  words  that  Manasseh 
was  personally  appointed 
from  all  eternity  to  disbe- 
lieve and  be  damned,  and 
Ephraim  to  believe  and 
be  saved ;  that  the  purpose 
of  God  according  to  abso- 
lute reprobation  and  elec- 
tion might  stand  "  not  of 


11. 

these,  1  Sam.  xvi,  7,  10. 
The  Lord  hath  sought 
him  a  man  after  his  own 
heart,  [David,]  because 
thou  [Saul]  hast  not  kept 
that  which  the  Lord  com- 
manded thee.  Once  more : 
the  liord  has  rent  the  king- 
dom of  Israel  from  thee 
this  day,  and  hath  given 
it  to  a  neighbour  of  thine 
that  is  better  tha^i  thou," 
chap,  xlii,  14 ;  xv,  28. 

The  kingdom  of  Israel 
was  an  unpromised  gift  to 
Saul  and  to  David,  and  yet 
God's  election  to  and  re- 
probation from  that  dignity 
were  according  to  disposi- 
tions and  works.  Haw 
much  more  may  this  be 
said  of  God's  election  to  or 
reprobation  from  a  crown 
of  glory  ! — a  crown  this, 
which  God  hath  promised 
by  way  of  reward  to  them 
that  love  him  ;  refusing  it 
by  way  of  punishment  to 
them  that  hate  him ;  whom 
he  clothes  in  hell  with 
shame  and  with  a  venge- 
ful curse,  according  to  their 


224  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

I.  II. 

works,*  but  of  him  that  works  and  his  own  declara- 
capriciously  and  irresist-  tion  which  follows : — "Yet 
iftZy  calleth"  some  to  finish-  saith  the  [Predestiriarian] 
ed  salvation  in  Christ,  and  house  of  Israel,  The  way 
others  to  finished  damna-  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal. 
tion  in  Adam?  That  God  O  house  of  Israel,  are 
abhors  such  a  proceeding  not  ray  ways  equal  ?  Are 
is  evident  from  the  scrip-  not  your  ways  unequal? 
tures  which  fill  ray  left  Therefore  I  will  judge  you 
scale,  and  in  particular  every  one  according  to  his 
from  the  opposite  texts.         ways.     Repent  and  turn, 

(fee,  so  iniquity  shall  not 
be  your  ruin,"  Ezek.  xviii, 
29,  (fee.     "  I  wiU  do  unto 

*  This  phrase,  "  That  the  purpose  of  God  according  to  election 
might  stand  not  of  works,  but  of  him  that  calleth,"  is  to  be  under, 
stood  merely  of  those  blessings  which  distinguishing  grace  bestows 
upon  some  men  and  not  upon  others,  and  which  do  not  necessarily 
affect  their  eternal  salvation  or  their  eternal  damnation.  In  this 
sense  it  was  that  God,  for  the  above-mentioned  reasons,  preferred 
Jacob  to  Esau.  In  this  sense  he  still  prefers  a  Jew  to  a  Hottentot, 
and  a  Christian  to  a  Jew;  giving  a  Christian  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  while  the  Jew  has  only  the  Old,  and  the  Hottentot  has 
neither.  Far  from  denying  the  reality  of  this  sovereign,  distinguish- 
ing grace,  which  is  independent  on  all  works,  and  flows  entirely 
from  the  superabounding  kindness  of  "  him  that  calleth,"  I  hav6 
particularly  maintained  it.t  This  is  St.  Paul's  edifying  meaning,  to 
which  I  have  not  the  least  objection.  But  when  Zelotes  stretches 
the  phrase  so  far  as  to  make  it  mean  that  God  ordains  people  to 
eternal  life  or  eternal  death,  "  not  of  works,  but  of  him  that"  with- 
out  reason  forcibly  calleth  some  to  believe  and  be  saved,  leaving 
others  necessarily  to  disbelieve  and  be  damned :  when  Zelotes  does 
this,  I  say,  my  reason  and  conscience  are  equally  frighted,  and  I  beg 
leave  to  dissent  from  him,  for  the  reasons  mentioned  in  this  chapter. 

t  See  Fletcher's  Works,  vol.  i,  p.  505. 


BEAUTIES    OF   FLETCHER. 


225 


It  is  written,  Jacob  have 
I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I 
hated,  Rom.  ix,  13. 

Zelotes,  who  catches  at 
whatever  seems  to  counte- 
nance his  doctrine  of  free 
wrath,  thinks  that  this 
scripture  demonstrates  the 
electing  and  reprobating 
partiahty  on  which  his 
favourite  doctrines  are 
founded.     To  see  his  mis- 


II. 

them  according  to  their 
way ;  and  according  to 
their  deserts  [secundum 
merita]  will  I  judge  them, 
and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord,"  Ezek.  vii, 
27.  To  these  scriptures 
you  may  add  all  the  mul- 
titude of  texts  where  God 
declares  that  he  will  judge, 
i.  e.,  justify  or  condemn, 
reward  or  punish,  finally 
elect  or  finally  reprobate 
men /or,  bp,  according  to, 
or  because  of,  their  works. 
God  is  love.  God  is 
loving"  to  every  man,  and 
his  tender  mercies  [in  the 
accepted  time]  are  over  all 
his  works.  Yet  the  chil- 
dren of  thy  people  say. 
The  way  of  the  Lord  is 
not  equal:  but  as  for  them, 
their  way  is  not  equal,  &c., 
1  John  iv,  8 ;  Psalm  cxlv, 
in  the  common  prayers; 
Ezek.  xxxiii,  17. 


take,  we  need  only  consider  that,  in  the  Scripture  lan- 
guage, a  love  of  preference  is  emphatically  called  love  ; 
and  an  inferior  degree  of  love  is  comparatively  called 
hatred.  Pious  Jacob  was  not  such  a  churlish  man  as 
positively  to  hate  any  body,  much  less  Leah,  his  cousin 
10* 


226  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

and  his  wife :  nevertheless,  we  read,  "  The  Lord  saw 
that  Leah  was  hated  :  the  Lord  hath  heard  that  I  was 
hated :  now,  therefore,  my  husband  will  love  me :" 
i.  e.,  Jacob  will  prefer  me  to  Rachel,  his  barren  wife, 
Gen.  xxix,  31,  32.  Again :  Moses  makes  a  law  con- 
cerning "  a  man  that  hath  two  wives,  one  beloved  and 
another  hated,"  without  intimating  that  it  is  wrong  in 
the  husband  to  hate,  that  is,  to  be  less  fond  of  one  of 
his  wives  than  of  the  other,  Deut.  xxi,  15.  Once  more : 
our  Lord  was  not  the  chaplain  of  the  old  murderer,  that 
he  should  command  us  positively  to  hate  our  fathers, 
mothers,  and  wives :  for  he  who  thus  "  hateth  another 
is  a  murderer."  Nevertheless,  he  not  only  says,  "  He 
that  hateth  his  hfe  [that  invaluable  gift  of  God]  shall 
keep  it  unto  Ufe  eternal;  and  he  that  loveth  his  life 
shall  lose  it :"  but  he  declares,  "  If  any  man  hate  not 
his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  ajid 
brethren,  and  sisters,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple,"  Luke 
xiv,  26.  Now,  Christ  evidently  means,  that  whosoever 
does  not  love  his  father,  <fec.,  and  his  own  life  less  than 
him,  cannot  be  his  sincere  disciple.  By  a  similar  idiom 
it  is  said,  "  Esau  have  I  hated :"  an  expression  this, 
which  no  more  means  that  God  had  absolutely  rejected 
Esau,  and  appointed  him  to  the  pit  of  destruction,  than 
Christ  meant  that  we  should  absolutely  throw  away  our 
lives,  reject  our  fathers,  wives,  and  children,  and  aban- 
don them  to  destruction. 

IL  L 

*Yf\iom  he  will  he  hard-  The  god  of  this  world 
eneth,  Rom.  ix,  18.  [not  the  Almighty]  hath 

•  The  reader  is  desired  to  take  notice,  that  in  this  and  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs,  where  I  produce  scriptures  expressive  of  God's  just 
\rrath,  I  have  shifted  the  numbers  that  mark  to  which  axiom  the 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


227 


11. 

That  is,  God  judicially 
gives  up  to  a  reprobate 
mind  whom  he  will,  not 
according  to  Calvinistic 
caprice,  but  according  to 
the  rectitude  of  his  own 
nature:  and  according  to 
this  rectitude  displayed  in 
the  gospel,  he  will  give 
up  all  those  who,  by  ob- 
stinately hardening  their 
hearts  to  the  last,  turn  the 
day  of  salvation  into  a 
day  of  final  provocation, 
see  Psalm  xcv,  8,  &.c. 

He  hath  Winded  their 
eyes,  and  hardened  their 
hearts,  that  they  should 
not  see  with  their  eyes, 
nor  understand  with  their 
heart,  and  be  converted, 
and  I  should  heal  them, 
John  xii,  40. 

That  is,  he  hath  judi- 
cially given  them  up  to 
their  own  blindness  and 


I. 


[by  their  own  free  consent] 
blinded  the  minds  of  them 
that  believe  not.  Now  is 
the  day  of  salvation.  De- 
spisest  thou  the  riches  of 
God's  goodness,  forbear- 
ance, and  long-suffering? 
not  knowing  that  the  good- 
ness of  God  leadeth  thee 
to  repentance?  But  after 
thy  hardness,  and  impeni- 
tent heart,  treasurest  up 
tmto  thyself  wrath,  2  Cor. 
iv,  4 ;  vi,  2 ;  Rom.  ii,  4, 5. 

In  them  is  fulfilled  the 
prophecy  of  Esaias,  who 
says.  By  hearing  ye  shall 
hear,  and  shall  not  under- 
stand ;  and  seeing,  ye  shall 
see,  and  shall  not  perceive. 
For  this  people's  heart  is 
waxed  gross;  [through 
their  obstinately  resisting 
the  light ;]  and  theii-  ears 
are  dull  of  hearing,  and 


passage  belongs.  And  this  I  have  done,  (1.)  Because  there  is  no 
free  wrath  in  God.  (2.)  Because,  when  there  is  wrath  in  him, 
man's  perverseness  is  the  just  cause  of  it.  And,  (3.)  Because,  in 
point  oievil,  man  has  the  wretched  diabolical  honour  of  being  first 
cause;  and  therefore,  No.  I.  is  his  shameful  prerogative,  according 
to  the  principles  laid  down  in  chapter  xii,  section  i. 


228 


BEAtJTlES    OF  FLETCHER. 


II. 

hardness.  They  had  said 
so  long.  We  will  not  see, 
that  he  said  at  last  in  his 
just  anger,  The^  shall  not 
see;  determined  to  with- 
draw the  abused,  forfeited 
hght  of  his  grace ;  and  so 
they  were  blinded. 

The  Lord  [in  the  above- 
mentioned  sense]  harden- 
ed Pharaoh's  heart,  [for  his 
unparalleled  cruelty  to  Is- 
rael,] Exod.  i,  10,  22 ;  vii, 
13.     See  the  next  note. 


I. 


theii'  eyes  they  have  clos- 
ed, lest  at  any  time  they 
should  see  with  their  eyes, 
and  hear  with  their  ears, 
and  should  understand 
with  their  heart,  and  should 
be  converted,  and  I  should 
heal  them.  Matt,  xiii,  14, 15. 
Pharaoh  hardened  his 
heart,  and  hearkened  not, 
Exod.  viii,  15.  Zedekiah 
stiffened  his  neck,  and 
hardened  his  heart  from 
turning    unto    the    Lord, 


2  Chron.  xxxvi,  13.  Take 
heed  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin,  Heb.  iii,  18.  Happy  is  the  man  that 
feareth  alway ;  but  he  that  hardeneth  his  heart  [as 
Pharaoh  did]  shall  fall  into  mischief,  [God  will  give 
him  up,]  Prov.  xxviii,  14.  They  are  without  excuse : 
because,  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not 
as  God,  (fcc.  Wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to 
uncleanness,  <fec.  For  this  cause  God  gave  them  up 
to  vile  affectioris,  <fec.  And  even  as  they  did  not  like 
to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over 
to  a  reprobate  mind,  Rom.  i,  20,  28. 


II. 

Thou  wilt  say  then  un- 
to me,  Why  does  he  yet 
find  fault?  For  who  hath 
resisted  his  will?  Rom.  ix, 
19. 


Shall  not  the  Judge  of 
all  the  earth  do  right?  Gen. 
xviii,  25.  That  thou  might- 
est  be  justified  hi  thy  say- 
ing, and  clear  when  thou 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 


229 


II. 


I. 


The  rigid  Calvinists  tri- 
umph greatly  in  this  ob- 
jection started  by  St.  Paul. 
They  suppose  that  it  can 
be  reasonably  levelled  at 
no  doctrine  but  their  own, 
which  teaches,  that  God 
by  irresistible  decrees  has 
unconditionally  ordained 
some  men  to  eternal  life, 
and  others  to  eternal  death ; 
and  therefore  their  doctrine 
is  that  of  the  apostle.  To 
show  the  absurdity  of  this 
conclusion,  I  need  only  re- 
mind the  reader  once  more, 
that  in  this  chapter  St.  Paul 
establishes  two  doctrines: 
(1.)  That  God  may  admit 
whom    he   will   into    the 


art  judged,  Psa.  li,  4.  Com. 
Prayer. 

Who  but  Zelotes  could 
justify  an  imaginary  being 
that  should,  by  the  chan- 
nel of  irresistible  decrees, 
pour  sin  and  wrath  into 
vessels  made  on  purpose  to 
hold  both  ;  and  should  call 
himself  the  God  of  love, 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and 
a  God  of  judgment  1  Nay, 
who  would  not  detest  a 
king,  vyho  should  abso- 
lutely contrive  the  con- 
tracted wickedness  and 
crimes  of  his  subjects,  that 
he  might  justly  sentence 
them  to  eternal  torments, 
to  show  his  sovereignty 
and  power  ? 


covenant  of  peculiarity, 

out  of  pure,  distinguishing, 

sovereign  grace:  and,  (2.)  That  he  had  an  absolute 

right  of  hardening  whom  he  will  upon  gospel  terms, 

i.  e.,  of  taking  the  talent  of  "softening  grace  from  all 

*Mr.  Henry  comments  thus  upon  these  words:  "  I  will  harden  his 
heart,"  that  is,  "  withdraw  softening  grace,"  which  God  undoubt- 
edly  did  upon  just  provocation.  Whence  it  follows  that,  inconsisU 
ent  Calvinists  being  judges,  Pharaoh  himself  had  once  softening 
grace;  it  being  impossible  for  God  to  withdraw  from  Pharaoh's 
heart  what  never  was  there.  Query.  Was  this  softening  grace, 
which  God  withdrew  from  Pharaoh,  of  the  reprobating  or  of  the 
electing  kind  ? 


230  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

that  imitate  the  obstinate  unbelief  of  Pharaoh ;  such 
inflexible  unbelievers  being  the  only  people  whom  God 
will  harden  or  give  up  to  a  reprobate  mind.  Now  in 
both  those  respects  the  objection  proposed  is  pertinent, 
as  the  apostle's  answers  plainly  show.  With  regard  to 
the  first  doctrine,  that  is,  the  doctrine  of  that  distin- 
guishing grace  which  puts  more  honour  upon  one  ves- 
sel than  upon  another;  calling  Abraham  to  be  the 
Lord's  "  pleasant  vessel,"  while  Lot  or  Moab  is  only  his 
"  wash  pot ;"  the  apostle  answers :  "  Nay,  but,  O  man, 
who  art  thou  who  repliest  against  God  ?  shall  the  thing 
formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it,  "Why  hast  thou  made 
me  thus  ?"  Why  am  I  a  "  wash  pot,"  and  not  a  "  plea- 
sant vessel?"  "Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the 
clay  ?"  (fcc.  Besides,  is  it  not  a  blessing  to  be  compara- 
tively a  "  vessel  to  dishonour  ?"  Had  not  Ishmael  and 
Esau  a  blessing,  though  it  was  inferior  to  that  of  Isaac 
and  Jacob  ?  Is  not  a  wash  pot  as  good  in  its  place  as 
a  drinking  cup  ?  Is  not  a  righteous  Gentile — a  Mel- 
chisedec,  or  a  Job,  (fee,  as  acceptable  to  God,  according 
to  his  dispensation,  as  a  devout  Jew  and  a  sincere 
Christian  according  to  theirs?  With  respect  to  the 
second  doctrine,  that  of  hardening  obstinate  unbelievers, 
and  "  making  his  wrathful  power  known"  upon  them  : 
after  tacitly  granting  that  it  is  impossible  to  resist  God's 
absolute  will,  the  apostle  intimates  in  his  laconic,  and 
yet  comprehensive  way  of  writing,  that  God  has  a  right 
to  find  fault  with,  and  display  his  wrathful  power  upon 
hardened  sinners,  because  "Ae  hardens'^  no?ie  but  such 
as  have  personally  made  themselves  "  vessels  of  wrath," 
and  "  fitted  themselves  for  destruction"  by  doing  despite 
to  the  Spirit  of  his  grace,  instead  of  improving  their  day 
of  initial  salvation :  and  he  insinuates  that  even  then. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


231 


God,  instead  of  presently  dealing  with  them  according 
to  their  deserts,  "endures  them  with  much  long- 
suffering,"  which,  according  to  St.  Peter's  doctrine,  is 
to  be  counted  a  degree  of  salvation.  Therefore  in 
both  senses  the  objection  is  pertinently  proposed, 
and  justly  answered  by  the  apostle,  without  the 
help  of  sovereign  free  wrath  and  Calvinistic  repro- 
bation. 


I. 

Hath  not  the  potter 
power  over  the  claj/,  of  the 
same  lump  to  make  one 
vessel  unto  honour  and 
another  unto  dishonour? 
Rom.  ix,  21. 

I  have  observed  again 
and  again  that  the  apostle 
with  his  two-edged  sword 
defends  two  doctrines :  (1.) 
The  right  which  God,  our 
sovereign  benefactor,  has 
to  give  five  talents,  or  one 
talent,  to  whom  he  pleases, 
that  is,  to  admit  some  peo- 
ple to  the  covenant  of  pe- 
culiarity, while  he  leaves 
others  under  a  more  gene- 
ral dispensation  of  grace 
and  favour.  Thus  a  Jew 
was  once  a  vessel  to  hon- 
our, a  person  honoured  far 
above  a  Gentile,  and  a 
Gentile,  in  comparison  to 


II. 

The  vessel  that  he  [the 
potter]  made  of  clay,  was 
marred  in  the  hand  of 
the  potter;  so  he  made 
it  again  into  another  ves- 
sel, as  seemed  good  to  the 
potter,  <fcc.  O  house  of 
Israel,  cannot  I  do  with 
you  as  this  potter,  says  the 
Lord,  &c.  At  what  instant 
I  shall  speak  concerning  a 
nation,  &c.,  to  destroy ;  [for 
its  wickedness ;]  if  that  na- 
tion, against  whom  I  have 
pronounced,  ^m?-w  from  their 
evil,  /  ivill  repent  of  the 
evil  that  I  thought  to  do 
unto  them.  And  at  what 
instant  I  shall  speak  con- 
cerning a  nation,  <fec.,  to 
build  it,  if  it  do  evil  in  my 
sight,  that  it  obey  not  my 
voice,  then  I  icill  repent 
of  the  good  wherewith  I 


232 


BEAUTIES    OF    FLETCHER. 


I. 

a  Jew,  might  be  called  "  a 
vessel  to  dishonour."  Mo- 
ab,  to  use  again  the  psalm- 
ist's expression,  was  once 
only  God's  "wash  pot," 
Psa.  Ix,  8,  while  Israel  was 
his  "  pleasant  vessel."  But 
now  the  case  is  altered: 
the  Jews  are  nationally  be- 
come the  "  vessel  wherein 
there  is  no  pleasure,"  and 
the  Gentiles  are  the  "  plea- 
sant vessel."  And  where 
is  the  injustice  of  this  pro- 
ceeding ?  If  a  potter  may 
make  of  the  same  lump  of 
clay  what  vessel  he  pleases, 
some  for  the  dining  room, 
and  others  for  the  meanest 
apartment,  all  good  and 
useful  in  their  respective 
places;  why  should  not 
God  have  the  same  liberty? 
Why  should  he  not,  if  he 
chooses  it.  place  some  moral 
vessels  above  others,  and 
raise  the  Gentiles  to  the 
honour  of  being  his  pecu- 
liar people  ?  An  unspeak- 
able honour  this,  which 
was  before  granted  to  the 
Jews  only. 


II. 

said  I  would  benefit  them, 
Jer.  xviii,  4. 

When  St.  Paul  wrote 
Rom.  ix,  21,  he  had  pro- 
bably an  eye  to  the  prece- 
ding passage  of  Jeremiah, 
which  is  alone  sufficient 
to  rectify  the  mistakes  of 
Zelotes ;  there  being  scarce 
a  stronger  text  to  prove  that 
God's  decrees  respecting  our 
salvation  and  destruction 
are  conditional.  Never  did 
"Sergeant  if"  guard  the 
genuine  doctrines  of  grace 
more  valiantly,  or  give  Cal- 
vinism a  more  desperate 
thrust  than  he  does  in  the 
potter's  house  by  the  pen 
of  Jeremiah.  However,  lest 
that  prophet's  testimony 
should  not  appear  suffi- 
ciently weighty  to  Zelotes, 
I  strengthen  it  by  an  ex- 
press declaration  of  God 
himself: — 

"Have  I  any  pleasure 
at  all  that  the  wicked 
should  die,  saith  the  Lord ; 
and  not  that  he  should  re- 
turn from  his  ways  and 
live?    Yet  ye  say,    The 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


233 


II. 

way  of  the  Lord  is  not 
equal  [in  point  of  election 
to  eternal  life,  and  appoint- 
ment to  eternal  death.] 
Hear  now,  O  house  of  Is- 
rael, Is  not  my  way  equal  ? 
When  a  righteous  man 
turneth  away  from  his 
righteousness,  <fcc.,  for  his 
iniquity  shall  he  die.  Again: 
when  a  wicked  man  turn- 
eth from  his  wickedness, 
<fcc.,  he  shall  save  his  soul 
alive,"  Ezek.  xviii,  23,  (fcc. 


I. 

The  apostle's  second 
doctrine  respects  "vessels 
of  mercy  and  vessels  of 
wrath,"  which  in  the  pre- 
sent case  must  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  the  "ves- 
sels to  honour,"  or  to  nobler 
uses,  and  "the  vessels  to 
dishonour,"  or  to  less  noble 
uses :  and,  if  I  mistake  not, 
this  distinction  is  one  of 
those  things  which,  as  St. 
Peter  observes,  are  "hard 
to  be  understood  in  Paul's 
epistles."    The  importance 

of  it  appears  from  this  consideration :  God  may,  as  a 
just  and  gracious  sovereign,  absolutely  make  a  moral 
vessel  for  a  more  or  less  honourable  use,  as  he  pleases ; 
such  a  preference  of  one  vessel  to  another  being  no 
more  inconsistent  with  divine  goodness,  than  the  king's 
appointing  one  of  his  subjects  lord  of  the  bed-chamber, 
and  another  only  groom  of  the  stable,  is  inconsistent 
with  loyal  good  nature.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with 
respect  to  "  vessels  of  mercy"  and  "  vessels  of  wrath." 
If  you  insinuate,  with  Zelotes,  that  an  absolute  God,  to 
show  his  absolute  love  and  wrath,  absolutely  made  some 
men  to  fill  them  unconditionally  and  eternally  with 
love  and  mercy,  and  others  to  fill  them  unconditionally 
and  eternally  v/ith  hatred  and  wrath,  by  way  of  re- 
ward and  punishment,  you  "  change  the  truth  of  God 
into  a  lie,"  and  serve  the  great  Diana  of  the  Calvinists 
more  than  the  righteous  Judge  of  all  the  earth.    What- 


234  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ever  Zelotes  may  think  of  it,  God  never  made  an  adult 
a  vessel  of  eternal  mercy  that  did  not  first  submit  to 
the  obedience  of  faith  ;  nor  did  he  ever  absolutely  look 
upon  any  man  as  a  vessel  of  wrath,  that  had  not  by 
personal,  obstinate    unbelief,  first  fitted  himself  for 
destruction.     Considering  then  the  comparison  of  the 
potter  as  referring  in  a  secondary  sense  to  the  '•  vessels 
of  mercy,"  and  to  the  "  vessels  of  wrath,"  it  conveys  the 
following  rational  and  Scriptural  ideas : — May  not  God, 
as  the  righteous  maker  of  moral  vessels,  fill  with  mercy 
or  with  wrath  whom  he  will,  according  to  his  essential 
wisdom  and  rectitude  ?     May  he  not  shed  abroad  his 
pardoning  mercy  and  love  in  the  heart  of  a  believing 
Gentile,  as  well  as  in  the  breast  of  a  beheving  Jew  1 
And  may  he  not  give  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  yea,  fill 
with  the  sense  of  his  just  wrath  a  stubborn  Jew,  a  Caia- 
phas,  as  well  as  a  refractory  Gentile,  a  Pharaoh  ?   Have 
not  Jews  and  Gentiles  a  common  original?     And  may 
not  the  Author  of  their  common  existence,  as  their  im- 
partial lawgiver,  determine  to  save  or  damn  individuals, 
upon  the  gracious  and  equitable  terms  of  the  gospel  dis- 
pensations?    Is  he  bound  absolutely  to  give  all  the 
blessings  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  to  Abraham's  pos- 
terity, and  absolutely  to  reprobate  the  rest  of  the  world  ? 
Has  a  Jew  more  right  to  "  reply  against  God"  than  a 
Gentile?    When  God  propounds  his  terms  of  salvation, 
does  it  become  any  man  to  "  say  to  him  that  formed 
him.  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus"  subject  to  thy  go- 
vernment ?   Why  must  I  submit  to  thy  terms?    If  God 
without  injustice  could  appoint  that  Christ  should  de- 
scend from  Isaac,  and  not  from  Ishmael;  if,  before  Esau 
and  Jacob  had  done  any  good  or  evil,  he  could  fix  that 
the  blood  of  Jacob,  and  not  that  of  Esau,  should  ran  in 


BEAUTIES  OP  FLETCHER.  235 

his  Son's  veins,  though  Esau  was  Isaac's  child  as  well 
as  Jacob ;  how  much  more  may  he,  without  breaking 
the  promise  made  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  fix 
that  the  free-willing  believer,  whether  Jew  or  Gentile, 
shall  be  a  "  vessel  of  mercy  prepared  for  glory,"  chiefly 
by  free  grace ;  and  that  the  free-willing  unbeliever  shall 
be  a  "  vessel  of  wrath,  fitted,"  chiefly  by  free  will,  "  for 
just  destruction  ?"  Is  not  this  doctrine  agreeable  to  our 
Lord's  expostulation,  With  "the  light  of  life,  which 
lightens  every  man,  you  will  not  come  unto  me  that 
.you  might  have  life — more  abundant  life — yea,  life 
evermore  ?"  Does  it  not  perfectly  tally  with  the  great, 
irrespective  decrees  of  conditional  election  and  reproba- 
tion, "  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,"  that  is,  he 
that  shows  his  faith  by  correspondent  works,  when  his 
Lord  comes  to  reckon  with  him,  "  shall  be  saved :  and 
he  that  believeth  not,"  though  he  were  baptized,  "  shaU 
be  damned  ?"  And  is  it  not  astonishing,  that  when  St. 
Paul's  meaning  in  Rom.  ix  can  be  so  easily  opened  by 
the  silver  and  golden  key,  which  God  himself  has 
sent  us  from  heaven,  I  mean  reason  and  Scripture,  so 
many  pious  divines  should  go  to  Geneva,  and  humbly 
borrow  Calvin's  wooden  and  iron  key,  I  mean  his  elec- 
tion and  reprobation  ?  Two  keys  these,  which  are  in 
as  great  repute  among  injudicious  Protestants,  as  the 
keys  of  his  holiness  are  among  simple  Papists.  Nor  do 
I  see  what  great  difference  there  is  between  the  Romish 
and  the  Geneva  keys :  if  the  former  open  and  shut  a 
fool's  paradise,  or  a  knave's  purgatory,  do  not  the  latter 
shut  us  all  up  in  finished  salvation  or  finished  damna- 
tion ? 


236  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   ABSURDITY  OF  SUPPOSING  THAT  THERE  CAN 
BE  ANY  FREE  WRATH  IN  A  JUST  AND  GOOD  GOD. 

I  SHALL  close  the  preceding  scriptures  by  some  argu- 
ments which  show  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that  there 
can  be  any  free   wrath   in  a  just  and   good   God. 
(1.)  When  Adam,  with  all  his  posterity  in  his  loins, 
came  forth  out  of  the  hands  of  his  Maker,  h^  was  pro- 
nounced very  good,  as  being  "  made  in  the  likeness  of 
God,"  and  "  after  the  image  of  him"  who  is  a  perfect 
compound  of  every   possible   perfection.     God  spake 
those  words  in  time ;  but  if  we  believe  Zelotes,  the  sup- 
posed decree  of  .absolute,  personal  rejection,  was  made 
before  time ;  God  having  fixed,  from  all  eternity,  that 
Esau  should  be  absolutely  hated.     Now,  as  Esau  stood 
in  and  with  Adam,  before  he  fell  in  and  with  him;  and 
as  God  could  not  but  consider  him  as  standing  and 
righteous,  before  he  considered   him  fallen  and  sin- 
ful; it  necessarily  follows,  either  that  Calvinism  is  a 
system  of  false  doctrine ;  or,  that  the  God  of  love,  holi- 
ness, and  equity,  once  hated  his  righteous  creature,  once 
reprobated  the  innocent,  and  said,  by  his  decree,  "  Cain, 
Esau,  Saul,  and  Judas,  are  very  good,  for  they  are 
seminal  parts  of  Adam  my  son,  whom  I  pronounce 
very  good.  Gen.  i,  31.     But  I  actually  hate  those  parts 
of  ray  unsullied  workmanship:   without  any  actual 
cause,  I  detest  mine  own  perfect  image.     Yea,  I  turn 
my  eyes  from  their  present  complete  goodness,  that  I 
may  hate  them  for  their  future  pre-ordained  iniquity." 
Suppose  the  God  of  love  had  transformed  himself  into 
the  evil  principle  of  the  Manichees,  what  could  he  have 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  237 

done  worse  than  thus  to  hate  with  immortal  hatred,  and 
absolutely  to  reprobate  his  innocent,  his  pure,  his  spot- 
less offspring,  at  the  very  time  in  which  he  pronounced 
it  very  good  7  If  Zelotes  shudders  at  his  own  doc- 
trine, and  finds  himself  obliged  to  grant,  that  so  long, 
at  least,  as  Adam  stood,  Cain,  Esau,  Saul,  and  Judas 
stood  with  him,  and  in  him  were  actually  loved,  condi- 
tionally chosen,  and  wonderfully  blessed  of  God  in  para- 
dise ;  it  follows  that  the  doctrine  of  God's  everlasting 
hate,  and  of  the  eternal,  absolute  rejection  of  those  whom 
.  Zelotes  considers  as  the  four  great  reprobates,  is  founded 
on  the  grossest  contradiction  imaginable. 

2.  But  Zelotes  possibly  complains  that  I  am  unfair, 
because  I  point  out  the  deformity  of  his  "  doctrine  of 
grace,"  without  saying  one  word  of  its  beauty.  "  Why 
do  you  not,"  says  he,  "  speak  of  God's  absolute,  ever- 
lasting love  to  Jacob,  as  well  as  of  his  absolute,  ever- 
lasting hate  to  Esau,  Pharaoh,  and  Judas  ?  Is  it  right 
to  make  always  the  worst  of  things  T  Indeed,  Zelotes, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  your  absolute  election  is  full  as 
subversive  of  Christ's  gospel  as  your  absolute  reproba- 
tion. The  Scripture  informs  us,  that  when  Adam  fell 
he  lost  the  favour,  as  well  as  the  image  of  God ;  and 
that  he  became  a  "  vessel  of  wrath"  from  head  to  foot : 
but  if  everlasting,  changeless  love  still  embraced  innu- 
merable parts  of  his  seed,  his  fall  was  by  no  means  so 
grievous  and  universal  as  the  Scriptures  represent  it : 
for  "  a  multitude,  which  no  man  can  number,"  ever 
stood,  and  shall  ever  stand  on  the  rock  of  ages :  a  rock 
this  which,  if  we  believe  Zelotes,  is  made  of  unchange- 
able, absolute,  sovereign,  everlasting  love  for  the  elect, 
and  of  unchangeable,  absolute,  sovereign,  everlasting 
wrath  for  the  reprobates. 


238  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

3.  But  this  is  only  part  of  the  mischief  that  necessa- 
rily flows  from  the  fictitious  doctrines  of  grace.  They 
make  the  cup  of  trembUng,  which  our  Lord  drank  in 
Gethsemane,  and  the  sacrifice  which  he  offered  on  Cal- 
vary, in  a  great  degree  insignificant.  Christ's  office  as 
high  priest  was  to  sprinkle  the  burning  throne  with  his 
precious  blood,  and  to  "  turn  away  wrath"  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  himself:  but  if  there  never  was  either  a  burning 
throne,  or  any  wrath  flaming  against  the  elect ;  if  un- 
changeable love  ever  embraced  them,  how  greatly  is 
the  oblation  of  Christ's  blood  depreciated  ?  Might  he 
not  almost  have  saved  himself  the  trouble  of  coming 
down  from  heaven  to  "turn  away  a  wrath"  which  never 
flamed  against  the  elect,  and  which  shall  never  cease  to 
flame  against  the  reprobates  ? 

4.  From  God's  preaching  the  gospel  to  our  first 
parents  it  appears  that  they  were  of  the  number  of  the 
elect,  and  Zelotes  himself  is  of  opinion  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  little  flock.  If  this  was  the  case,  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  free,  sovereign,  unchangeable, 
everlasting  love  to  the  elect,  it  nee  ssarily  follows,  that 
Adam  himself  was  never  a  child  of  wrath.  Nor  does 
it  require  more  faith  to  believe  that  our  first  parents 
were  God's  pleasant  children,  when  they  sated  them- 
selves with  forbidden  fruit,  than  to  believe  that  David 
and  Bathsheba  were  persons  after  God's  own  heart, 
when  they  defiled  Uriah's  bed.  Hence  it  follows  that 
the  doctrine  of  God's  everlasting  love,  in  the  Crispian 
sense  of  the  word,  is  absolutely  false,  or  that  Adam 
himself  was  a  child  of  changeless,  everlasting  love, 
when  he  made  his  wife,  the  serpent,  and  his  own  belly, 
his  trinity  under  the  fatal  tree :  while  Cain  was  a  child 
of  everlasting  wrath,  when  God  said  of  him,  in  his 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  239 

father's  loins,  that  he  was  very  good.  Thus  we  still 
fiad  ourselves  at  the  shrine  of  the  great  Diana  of  the 
Calvinists,  singing  the  new  song  of  salvation  and  dam- 
nation finished  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  laid  down  by  the  Westminster 
divines  in  their  catechism  :  "  God  from  all  eternity  did, 
by  the  most  wise  and  holy  counsel  of  his  own  will, 
freely  and  unchangeably  ordain  whatever  comes  to  pass." 
5.  This  leads  me  to  a  third  argument.  If  God  from 
all  eternity  did  "unchangeably  ordain"  all  events,  and, 
in  particular,  that  the  man  Christ  should  absolutely  die 
to  save  a  certain,  fixed  number  of  men,  who  (by  the 
by)  never  were  children  of  wrath,  and  therefore  never 
were  in  the  least  danger  of  perishing :  if  he  unaltera- 
bly appointed  that  the  devil  should  tempt,  and  abso- 
lutely prevail  over  a  certain  fixed  number  of  men  who 
were  children  of  wrath,  before  temptation  and  sin  made 
them  so :  if  this  is  the  case,  I  say,  how  idle  was  Christ's 
redeeming  work !  How  foolish  the  tempter's  restless 
labour  !  How  absurd  Zelotes'  preaching  !  How  full 
of  inconsistency  his  law  messages  of  wrath  to  the  elect, 
and  his  gospel  messages  of  free  grace  to  the  reprobates  ! 
And  how  true  the  doctrine,  which  has  lately  appeared 
in  print,  and  sums  up  the  Crispian  gospel  in  these  sen- 
tences : — Ye,  elect,  shall  be  saved,  do  what  ye  will ; 
and  ye,  reprobates,  shall  be  damned,  do  what  ye  can  ; 
for  in  the  day  of  his  power  the  Almighty  will  make 
you  all  absolutely  willing  to  go  to  the  place  which  he 
has  unconditionally  ordained  you  for,  be  it  heaven  or 
hell ;  God,  if  we  believe  the  Westminster  divines,  in 
their  catechism,  "having  unchangeably  foreordained 
whatever  comes  to  pass  in  time,  especially  concerning 
angels  and  men."     An  unscriptural  doctrine  this,  which 


240  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

charges  all  sin  and  damnation  upon  God,  and  perfectly 
agrees  with  the  doctrine  of  the  consistent  Calvinists, 
I  mean  the  doctrine  of  finished  salvation  and  finished 
damnation,  thus  summed  up  by  Bishop  Burnet  in  his 
exposition  of  the  seventeenth  article :  "  They  think, 
(fee,  that  he,"  God,  "  decreed  Adam's  sin,  the  lapse  of 
his  posterity,  and  Christ's  death,  together  with  the  sal- 
vation and  damnation  of  such  men  as  should  be  most 
for  his  own  glory :  that  to  those  that  were  to  be  saved 
he  decreed  to  give  such  efiicacious  assistances  as  should 
certainly  put  them  in  the  way  of  salvation ;  and  to 
those  whom  he  rejected,  he  decreed  to  give  such  assist- 
ances and  means  only  as  should  render  them  inexcusa- 
ble." Just  as  if  those  people  could  ever  be  inexcusable 
who  only  do  what  their  almighty  Creator  has  "un 
changeably  ordained !" 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MR.  TOPLADY'S  CHRISTIAN  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL 
NECESSITY  CONSIDERED. 

Mr.  Toplady's  scheme  of  Christian  and  philo- 
sophical necessity  makes  God  the  author  of  every  sin. 
Says  Mr.  Toplady,  page  12  : — 

"  If  we  distinguish  accurately,  this  seems  to  have 
been  the  order  in  which  the  most  judicious  of  the 
ancients  considered  the  whole  matter: — First,  God; 
then  his  will ;  then  fate,  or  the  solemn  ratification 
of  his  will,  by  pa&sing  and  establishing  it  into  an  un- 
changeable decree;  then  creation;  then  necessity; 
i.  e.,  such  an  indissoluble  concatenation  of  secondary 
causes  and  effects  as  has  a  native  tendency  to  secure 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  241 

the  certainty  of  all  events,  as  one  wave  is  imjielled 
by  another ;  then  providence ;  i.  e.,  the  omnipresent, 
omnivigilantj  all-directing  superintendency  of  divine 
wisdom  and  power,  carrying  the  whole  preconcerted 
scheme  into  actual  execution  by  the  subservient  media- 
tion of  second  causes,  which  were  created  for  that  end." 
Upon  this  Mr.  Fletcher  observes— I  would  only  ask 
a  few  questions:  (1.)  If  all  our  actions,  and  conse- 
quently all  our  sins,  compose  the  seventh  link  of  the 
chain  ;— if  the  first  hnk  is  God;  the  second  his  will ; 
,  the  third  his  decree  ;  the  fourth  the  creation  ;  the  fifth 
necessity;  the  sixth  providence;  and  the  seventh  sin; 
is  it  not  as  easy  to  trace  the  pedigree  of  sin  through 
providence,  necessity,  creation,  God's  decree,  and 
God's  will,  up  to  God  himself,  as  it  is  to  trace  back 
the  genealogy  of  the  prince  of  Wales  from  George  III., 
by  George  II.,  up  to  George  I.  ?  And  upon  this  plan  is 
it  not  clear  that  si7i  is  as  much  the  real  offspring  of 
God,  as  the  prince  of  Wales  is  the  real  ofl'spring  of 
George  the  First?  (2.)  If  this  is  the  case,  is  not  God 
the  author  of  sin  by  means  of  his  will,  his  decree,  his 
creation,  his  necessitation,  and  bis  providence  7  Does 
it  not  unavoidably  follow  that  sin  is  the  offspring  of 
God's  providence,  of  God's  necessitation,  of  God's 
creation,  of  God's  decree,  of  God's  will,  of  God  him- 
self? 

To  say  that  men  sin  voluntarily  as  well  as  neces- 
sarily is  only  to  make  a  bad  matter  worse.  For  if  all 
their  sins  are  necessarily  brought  about  by  God's  de- 
cree, their  willing  and  bad  choice  are  brought  about 
by  the  same  means. 

Mr.  Toplady  attempts  to  support  his  scheme  of 
absolute  necessity  by  taking  a  philosophical   survey 

11 


242  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

of  the  soul's  dependance  on  the  body,  and  on  the  sur- 
rounding circumstances.  He  remarks  that  "the  soul 
is  in  a  very  extensive  degree  passive,  as  matter  is ; — 
the  senses  are  necessarily  impressed  by  every  object 
from  without ;  and  as  necessarily  coinmove  the  fibres 
of  the  brain ;  from  which  nervous  commotion  ideas  are 
necessarily  communicated  to,  or  excited  in,  the  soul ; 
and  by  the  judgment  which  the  soul  necessarily  frames 
of  those  ideas,  the  will  is  necessarily  inclined  to  approve 
or  disapprove,  to  act  or  not  to  act."—"  The  human  body 
is  necessarily  encompassed  by  a  multitude  of  other 
bodies;  which  other  surrounding  bodies,  animal,  ve- 
getable, <fec.,  so  far  as  we  come  within  their  perceivable 
sphere,  necessarily  impress  our  nerves  with  sensations 
correspondent  to  the  objects  themselves.  These  sensa- 
tions are  necessarily  propagated  to  the  soul,  which  can 
no  more  help  receiving  them,  and  being  affected  by 
them,  than  a  tree  can  resist  a  stroke  of  lightning." 

To  this  ''philosophical  survey"  Mr.  Fletcher  opposes 
the  following  remarks : — 

I.  This  scheme  is  contrary  to  genuine  philosophy, 
which  has  always  represented  the  soul  as  able  to  resist 
the  strongest  impressions  of  the  objects  that  surround 
the  body. 

II.  This  doctrine  unman's  man.  For  reason,  or  a 
power  morally  to  regulate  the  appetite  which  we  gratify 
by  means  of  our  senses,  is  what  chiefly  distinguishes 
us  from  other  animals.  Now,  if  outward  objects  neces- 
sarily bias  our  senses ;  if  our  senses  necessarily  bias 
our  judgment ;  and  if  our  judgment  necessarily  bias 
our  will  and  practice  ;  what  advantage  have  we  over 
beasts  ? 

III.  It  also  overthrows  conscience,  and  the  "light 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  243 

which  enlightens  every  man."  For  of  what  use  is 
conscience!  Or  of  what  use  is  the  internal  light  of 
grace  which  enlightens  conscience  within,  if  man  is 
necessarily  determined  from  without;  and  if  the  ob- 
jects which  strike  his  senses  irresistibly  turn  his  judg- 
ment and  his  will,  insomuch  that  he  can  no  more  resist 
their  impression  "  than  a  tree  can  resist  a  stroke  of 
lightning  ?" 

IV.  This  scheme  robs  us  of  the  very  essence  of  God's 
natural  image,  which  consists  chiefly  in  self-activity 
and  self-inotion.  For,  according  to  this  scheme,  we 
cannot  take  one  step,  not  even  in  the  common  affairs 
of  life,  without  an  irresistible  necessitating  impulse. 

V.  This  scheme  of  necessity  charges  all  sin  upon 
Providence,  who,  by  the  surrounding  objects  which  ne- 
cessarily impress  our  intellect,  causes  sin  as  truly  and 
as  irresistibly  as  a  gunner  causes  the  explosion  of  a 
loaded  cannon  by  applying  a  lighted  match  to  the 
powder.  And  Eve  was  unwise  when  she  said,  "  The 
serpent  beguiled  me  and  I  did  eat :"  for  she  might  have 
said,  "  Lord,  I  have  only  followed  the  appointed  law  of 
my  nature :  for  providentially  coming  within  sight  of 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  I  perceived  that  the  fruit  was 
good  for  food,  and  pleasant  to  the  eye.  It  necessarily 
impressed  my  nerves  with  correspondent  sensations; 

•these  sensations  were  necessarily  and  instantaneously 
propagated  to  my  soul;  and  my  soul  could  no  more 
help  receiving  these  forcible  impressions,  and  eating  in 
consequence  of  them,  than  a  tree  can  resist  a  stroke 
of  lightning." 

VI.  It  is  contrary  to  Scripture ;  for  if  man  be  neces- 
sarily affected  and  irresistibly  wrought  upon  or  led  by 
the  forcible  impressions  of  external  objects,  Paul  spoke 


•J44  BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCHER. 

like  a  heretical  free  wilier  when  he  said,  All  things 
[indifferent]  are  lawful  for  me ;  hut  I  will  not  he 
brought  under  the  power  of  any.  How  foolish  was 
the  saying,  if  he  could  no  more  help  being  brought 
under  the  irresistible  power  of  the  objects  which  sur- 
rounded him  than  a  tree  can  help  being  struck  by- 
lightning  ! 

VII.  It  is  contrary  to  common  sense.  How  can  God 
reasonably  set  hfe  and  death  before  us,  and  bid  us 
choose  life  and  shun  death,  if  surrounding  objects  work 
upon  us  as  hghtning  works  on  a  tree  ? 

VIII.  It  is  contrary  to  the  sentiment  of  all  the 
churches  of  Christ,  for  they  all  reasonably  require  us 
to  renounce  the  vain  pomps  of  the  world,  and  the  al- 
luring, sinful  baits  of  the  flesh.  But  if  these  pomps 
and  baits  work  upon  us  by  means  of  our  senses  as 
necessarily^  and  determine  our  wills  as  irresistibly,  as 
lightning  shivers  a  tree,  can  any  thing  be  more  absurd 
than  our  baptismal  engagements?  Might  we  not  as 
well  seriously  vow  never  to  be  struck  with  lightning  ? 

IX.  It  represents  the  proceedings  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment as  the  most  unrighteous,  cruel,  and  hypocritical 
acts  that  ever  disgraced  the  tribunal  of  a  tyrant.  For 
if  God,  by  eternal,  absolute,  and  necessitating  decrees, 
places  the  reprobates  in  the  midst  of  a  current  of  cir- 
cumstances which  carries  them  along  as  irresistibly  as 
a  rapid  river  wafts  a  feather ; — if  he  encompasses  them 
with  tempting  objects,  which  strike  their  souls  with 
ideas  that  cause  sin  in  their  hearts  and  lives,  as  in- 
evitably as  a  stroke  of  lightning  raises  spUnters  in  a 
tree  which  it  shatters ; — and  if  we  can  no  more  help 
being  determined  by  these  objects,  which  God's  provi- 
dence has  placed  around  us  on  purpose  to  determine 


BBA0TIE8  OF  FLITCHSH.  24$ 

US,  than  a  tree  can  resist  a  stroke  of  lightning,  it  un- 
avoidably follows,  that  when  God  wUl  judiciaUy  con- 
demn the  wicked  and  send  them  to  heU  for  their  sins, 
he  will  act  with  as  much  justice  as  the  king  would  do 
if  he  sent  to  the  gallows  all  his  subjects  who  have  had 
the  misfortune  of  being  struck  with  lightning.  Nay, 
to  make  the  case  parallel,  we  must  suppose  that  the 
king  has  the  absolute  command  of  the  lightning,  and 
had  previously  struck  them  with  the  fiery  ball,  that  he 
might  subsequently  condemn  them  to  be  hanged  for 
,  having  been  struck  according  to  his  absolute  decree. 

X.  This  scheme  of  necessity/  places  matter  and  its 
impressions  far  above  spirit  and  its  influence.  Every 
rnaterial  object  around  us,  by  making  necessary,  irre- 
sistible impressions  on  our  minds,  necessarily  determines 
our  will,  and  irresistibly  impels  our  actions.  According 
to  this  system,  we  cannot  resist  the  influence  of  matter ; 
but  if  we  believe  the  Scriptures,  we  can  resist  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  do  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace.  Now, 
what  is  this  but  to  represent  matter  as  more  active, 
quick,  and  powerful  than  spirit?  yea,  than  even  the 
Holy  Spirit  ? 


246  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

ABSURD  CONSEQUENCES  ATTACHED  TO  ERROR. 

SECTION  I. 

SHOWING  THAT,  UPON  THE  CALVINIAN  SCHEME,  IT  IS  AN 
INDUBITABLE  TRUTH  THAT  SOME  MEN  SHALL  BE  SAVED, 
DO  WHAT  THEY  WILL,  TILL  THE  EFFICACIOUS  DECREE  OF 
CALVINIAN  ELECTION  NECESSITATES  THEM  TO  REPENT 
AND  BE  SAVED  ;  AND  THAT  OTHERS  SHALL  BE  DAMNED, 
DO  WHAT  THEY  CAN,  TILL  THE  EFFICACIOUS  DECREE  OF 
CALVINIAN  REPROBATION  NECESSITATES  THEM  TO  SIN 
AND  BE   DAMNED. 

If  God  from  all  eternity  absolutely  predestinated  a 
fixed  number  of  men,  called  the  elect,  to  eternal  life, 
and  absolutely  predestinated  a  fixed  number  of  men, 
called  the  reprobate,  to  eternal  death,  does  it  not  un- 
avoidably follow  that  ^^the  elect  shall  he  saved,  do 
what  they  will  /'  and  that  "  the  reprobate  shall  he 
damned,  do  what  they  can ,?"  Mr.  Wesley  thinks 
that  this  consequence  is  true ;  Mr.  Toplady  says  that 
it  is  absolutely  fal^ ;  but  I  side  with  Mr.  Wesley  for 
the  consequence ;  guarding  against  cavils  by  a  clause 
which  his  love  of  brevity  made  him  think  needless. 

An  illustration  will  at  once  show  the  justness  of  this 
consequence  to  an  unprejudiced  reader.  Fifty  fishes 
sport  in  a  muddy  pond  where  they  have  received  life. 
The  skilful  and  almighty  owner  of  the  pond  has  ab- 
solutely decreed  that  ten  of  these  fishes,  properly  marked 
with  a  shining  mark  called  election,  shall  absolutely  be 
caught  in  a  certain  net,  called  a  gospel  net,  on  a  cer- 
tain day,  called  the  day  of  his  power,  and  that  they 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  247 

shall  every  one  be  cast  into  a  delightful  river,  where  he 
has  engaged  himself,  by  an  eternal  covenant  of  parti- 
cular redemption,  to  bring  them  without  fail.     The 
same  omnipotent  proprietor  of  the  pond  has  likewise 
absolutely  decreed  that  all  the  rest  of  the  fishes,  namely, 
forty,  which  are  properly  distinguished  by  a  black 
mark  called  reprobation,  shall  never  be  caught  in  the 
gospel  net ;  or  that,  if  they  are  entangled  in  it  at  any 
time,  they  shall  always  be  drawn  out  of  it,  and  so  shall 
necessarily  continue  in  the  muddy  pond  till,  on  a  certain 
day,  called  the  day  of  his  wrath,  he  shall  sweep  the 
pond  with  a  certain  net  called  a  law  net,  catch  them 
all,  and  cast  them  into  a  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone, 
where  he  has  engaged  himself,  by  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant of  non-redemption,  to  bring  them  all  without  fail, 
that  they  may  answer  the  end  of  their  predestination  to 
death,  which  is  to  show  the  goodness  of  his  law  net, 
and  to  destroy  them  for  having  been  bred  in  the  muddy 
pond,  and  for  not  having  been  caught  in  the  gospel  net. 
The  owner  of  the  pond  is  wise  as  well  as  powerful. 
He  knows,  that  absolutely  to  secure  the  end  to  which 
his  fishes  are  absolutely  predestinated,  he  must  also 
absolutely  secure  the  means  which  conduce  to  that 
end :  and  therefore,  that  none  may  escape  their  happy 
or  unfortunate  predestination,  he  keeps  night  and  day 
his  hold  of  them  all  by  a  strong  hook  called  necessity, 
and  by  an  invisible  line  called  divine  decrees.     By 
means  of  this  hne  and  hook  it  happens,  that  if  the 
fishes  that  bear  the  mark  of  election  are  ever  so  loth  to 
come  into  the  gospel  net,  or  to  stay  therein,  they  are 
always  drawn  into  it  in  a  day  of  powerful  love ;  and  if 
the  fishes  which  bear  the  mark  of  reprobatio7i  are  for 
a  time  ever  so  desiious  to  wrap  themselves  in  the  gospel 


248  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

net,  they  are  always  drawn  out  of  it  in  a  day  of  power- 
ful wrath.  For  though  the  fishes  seem  to  swim  ever 
so  freely,  yet  their  motions  are  all  absolutely  fixed  by 
the  owner  of  the  pond,  and  determined  by  means  of  the 
above  Une  and  hook.  If  this  is  the  case,  says  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, ten  fishes  shall  go  into  the  delightful  river,  let  them 
do  what  they  will;  let  them  plunge  in  the  mud  of  their 
pond  ever  so  briskly,  or  leap  toward  the  lake  of  fire  ever 
so  often,  while  they  have  any  liberty  to  plunge  or  to 
leap.  And  all  the  rest  of  the  fishes,  forty  in  number, 
shall  go  into  the  lake  of  fire,  let  them  do  what  they 
can ;  let  them  involve  themselves  ever  so  long  in  the 
gospel  net,  and  leap  ever  so  often  toward  the  fine  river, 
before  they  are  absolutely  necessitated  to  go  through  the 
mud  of  their  own  pond  into  the  sulphureous  pool.  The 
consequence  is  undeniable,  and  I  make  no  doubt  that 
all  unprejudiced  persons  see  it  as  well  as  myself;  as 
sure  as  two  and  two  make  four,  or,  if  you  please,  as 
sure  as  ten  and  forty  make  fifty,  so  sure  ten  fishes 
shall  be  caught  in  the  gospel  net,  and  forty  in  the 
law  net. 

Mr.  Toplady  denies  the  consequence,  and  says — 
"  Can  Mr.  Wesley  produce  a  single  instance  of  any 
one  man  who  did  all  he  could  to  be  saved,  and  yet  was 
lost?  If  he  can,  let  him  tell  us  who  that  man  was, 
where  he  lived,  when  he  died,  what  he  did,  and  how 
it  came  to  pass  that  he  laboured  in  vain ;  if  he  cannot, 
let  him  either  retract  his  consequences,  or  continue  to 
be  posted  as  a  shameless  traducer." 

I  answer :  1.  To  require  Mr.  Wesley  to  show  a  man 
who  did  all  he  could,  and  yet  was  lost,  is  requiring  him 
to  prove  that  Calvinian  reprobation  is  true ! — a  thing 
this  which  he  can  no  more  do  than  he  can  prove  that 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  '  249' 

God  is  false.  Mr.  "Wesley  never  said  any  man  was 
damned  after  doing  his  best  to  be  saved ;  he  only  says 
that,  if  Calvinism  is  true,  the  reprobates  shall  all  be 
damned,  though  they  should  all  do  their  best  to  be  saved, 
till  the  efficacious  decree  of  their  absolute  reprobation 
necessitates  them  to  draw  back  and  be  damned. 

2.  As  Mr.  Toplady's  bold  request  may  impose  upon  his 
inattentive  readers,  I  beg  leave  to  point  out  its  absurdity 
by  a  short  illustration.  Mr.  Wesley  says,  if  there  is 
a  mountain  of  gold,  it  is  heavier  than  a  handful  of 
feathers ;  and  his  consequence  passes  for  true  in  Eng- 
land :  but  a  gentleman  who  teaches  logic  in  mystic 
Geneva  thinks  that  it  is  absolutely  false,  and  that  Mr. 
Weslfey's  "forehead  tnust  he  petrified,  and  quite  imr 
pervious  to  a  blush,"  for  advancing  it.  Can  Mr. 
Wesley,  says  he,  show  us  a  mountain  of  gold  which 
is  really  heavier  than  a  handful  of  feathers  ?  If  he  can, 
let  him  tell  us  what  mountain  it  is,  where  it  lies,  in 
what  latitude,  how  high  it  is,  and  who  did  ever  ascend 
to  the  top  of  it.  If  he  cannot,  let  him  either  retract 
his  consequences,  or  continue  to  be  posted  as  a  shame- 
less tradiicer. 


SECTION  n. 

MR.  toplady's   inquiry  ANSWERED. 

Mr.  Toplady  inquires,  "  Is  salvation  due  to  a  man 
that  does  not  perform  those  conditions  .^"  And  then  he 
remarks,  "  If  you  say  yes,  you  jump  hand  over  head 
into  what  you  yourself  call  Antinomianism.  If  you 
say  that  salvation  is  not  due  to  a  man  unless  he  do 
fulfil  the  condition;  it  will  follow  that  man's  own 
11* 


250  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

performances  are  meritorious  of  salvation,  and  bring 
God  himself  into  debt." 

To  this  Mr.  Fletcher  answers— The  flaw  of  Mr. 
Toplady's  argument  will  appear  in  its  proper  magni- 
tude, if  we  look  at  it  through  the  following  illustration  : 
A  whole  regiment  is  led  to  the  left  by  the  colonel,  whom 
the  general  wanted  to  turn  to  the  right.     The  colonel, 
who  is  personally  in  the  fault,  is  pardoned ;  and  five 
hundred  of  the  soldiers,  who,  by  the  overbearing  influ- 
ence of  their  colonel's  disobedience,  were  necessitated 
to  move  to  the  left,  are  appointed  to  be  hanged  for  not 
going  to  the  right.     The  general  sends  to  Geneva  for 
a  Tertullus,  who  vindicates  the  justice  of  the  execu- 
tion by  the  following  speech  :  "  Preferment  is  not  due 
to  obedient  soldiers,  much  less  to  soldiers  who  have 
necessarily  disobeyed  orders ;  and  therefore  your  gra- 
cious general  acts  consistently  with  justice  in  appoint- 
ing these  five  hundred  soldiers  to  be  hanged,  for,  as 
there  is  no  medium  between  not  promoting  soldiers 
and  hanging  them,  he  might  justly  have  hanged  the 
whole  regiment.     He  is  not  bound  by  any  law  to  give 
any  soldier  a  captain's  commission ;  and  therefore  he  is 
perfectly  just  when  he  sends  these  military  reprobates 
to  the  gallows."     Some  of  the  auditors  clap  Tertullus's 
argument:  P.  O.  cries  out  that  it  is  -Ujiost  masterly:'^ 
but  a  few  of  the  soldiers  are  not  quite  satisfied,  and 
begin  to  question  whether  the  holy  service  of  the  mild 
Saviour  of  the  world  is  not  preferable  to  the  Antino- 
mian  service  of  the  absolute  reprobater  of  countless 
myriads  of  unborn  infants. 

2.  The  other  flaw  of  Mr.  Toplady's  dilemma  consists 
in  supposing  that  gospel  worthiness  is  incompatible 

with  the  gospel:  whereas  all  the  doctrines  oi  justice, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  251 

which  make  one  half  of  the  gospel,  stand  or  fall  with 
the  doctrine  of  evangelical  worthiness.  We  will  shout 
it  on  the  walls  of  mystic  Geneva:  they  that  follow 
Christ  shall  loalk  with  him  in  white,  rather  than  they 
that  follow  antichrist;  for  they  are  [more]  worthy. 
Watch  and  pray  always,  that  you  may  be  counted 
worthy  to  escape,,  and  to  stand  rewardable  before  the 
Son  of  man.  The  doctrine  of  Pharisaic  merit  we 
abhor;  but  the  doctrine  of  rewardable  obedietice  we 
honour,  defend,  and  extol.  Believers,  let  not  Mr.  Top- 
'lady  beguile  you  of  your  reward  through  voluntary 
humility ;  your  persevering  obedience  shall  be  graciously 
rewarded  by  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  you  at  that 
day;  and  then  great  shall  be  your  reward  in  heaven. 
For  Christ  himself  hath  said.  Be  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life.  lam  the  author 
of  eternal  salvation  to  them  that  obey  me.  What 
can  be  plainer  than  this  gospel?  Shall  the  absurd 
cries  of  "  Popery  !"  "  merit !"  &c.,  make  us  ashamed 
of  Christ's  disciple ;  of  Christ's  words ;  and  of  Christ 
himself?  God  forbid  !  Let  the  Scriptures — let  God  be 
true,  though  Mr.  Toplady  should  be  mistaken. 

Mr.  Toplady  says,  page  38 :  "  If  he  [God]  be  not 
obliged,  in  justice,  to  save  mankind,  then  neither  is  he 
unjust  in  passing  by  some  men  :  nay,  he  rnight,  had 
he  so  pleased,  have  passed  by  the  whole  of  mankind 
without  electing  one  individual  of  the  fallen  race,  and 
yet  have  continued  holy,  just,  and  good." 

True ;  he  might  have  passed  them  by,  without  fix- 
ing any  blot  upon  his  justice  and  goodness,  if  by  passing 
them  by  Mr,  T.  means  leaving  them  in  the  wretched 
state  of  seminal  existence,  in  which  state  his  vindictive 


252  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

justice  found  them  after  Adam's  fall.  For  then,  an 
unknown  punishment,  seminally  endured,  would 
have  borne  just  proportion  to. an  unknown  sin,  semi- 
nally committed.  But  if,  by  passing  some  men  by, 
this  gentleman  means,  as  Calvinism  does,  "  absolutely 
predestinating  men  to  necessary,  remediless  sin,  and 
to  unavoidable,  eternal  damnation :"  we  deny  that  God 
might  justly  have  passed  by  the  whole  of  mankind : 
we  deny  that  he  might  justly  have  passed  by  one 
single  man,  woman,  or  child.  Nay,  we  affirm  that,  if 
we  conceive  Satan,  or  the  evil  principle  of  Manes,  as 
exerting  creative  power,  we  could  not  conceive  him 
worse  employed  than  in  forming  an  absolute  reprobate 
in  embryo ;  that  is,  a  creature  unconditionally  and  ab- 
solutely doomed  to  remediless  wickedness  and  everlast- 
ing fire. 

As  the  simple  are  frequently  imposed  upon  by  an 
artful  substituting  of  the  harmless  word  passing  by  for 
the  terrible  word  absolutely  reprobating  to  death,  I 
beg  leave  to  shov/,  by  a  simile,  the  vast  difference  there 
is  between  these  two  phrases.  A  king  may,  without 
injustice,  pass  by  all  the  beggars  in  the  streets,  without 
giving  them  any  bounty;  because,  if  he  does  them  no 
good  in  thus  passing  them  by,  he  does  them  no  harm. 
But  suppose  he  called  two  captains  of  his  guards,  and 
said  to  the  Jirst,  If  you  see  me  p«5rs  by  little  dirty  beg- 
gars without  giving  them  an  alms,  throw  them  into  the 
mire,  or,  if  their  parents,  keep  them  there :  then  let  the 
second  captain  follow  with  his  men,  and  take  all  the 
dirty  beggars  who  have  been  thus  passed  by,  and 
throw  them,  for  being  dirty,  into  a  furnace  hotter  than 
that  of  Nebuchadnezzar: — suppose,  I  say,  the  king 
passed  his  httle  indigent  subjects  by  in  this  manner, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  253 

would  not  his  decree  of  preterition  be  a  more  than 
diabolical  piece  of  cruelty  ?  I  need  not  inform  my  judi- 
cious readers,  that  the  passing  hy  of  the  king  repre- 
sents Calvinian  passing  by,  that  is,  absolute  reproba- 
tion to  death :  that  the  first  captain,  who  throws  httle 
beggars  into  the  dirt,  or  keeps  them  there,  represents 
the  decree  of  the  means,  which  necessitates  the  repro- 
bate to  sill,  or  to  continue  in  sin ;  and  that  the  second 
captain  represents  the  decree  of  the  end,  which  neces- 
sitates them  to  go  to  everlasting  burnings. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
A  RATIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  EVIL. 

When  it  pleased  God  to  create  a  world,  his  wisdom 
obliged  him  to  create  upon  the  plan  that  was  most  wor- 
thy of  him.  Such  a  plan  was  undoubtedly  that  which 
agreed  best  with  all  the  divine  perfections  taken  to- 
gether. Wisdom  and  power  absolutely  required  that 
it  should  be  a  world  of  rational,  as  well  as  irrational 
creatures ;  of  free,  as  well  as  of  necessary  agents ; 
such  a  world  displayed  far  better  what  St.  Paul  calls 
Tro2.vnoiKi?.oc  ao(pca,  the  multifarious,  variegated  wis- 
dom of  God,  as  well  as  his  infinite  power  in  making, 
ruling,  and  overruling  various  orders  of  beings. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  myriads  of  free  agents, 
who  necessarily  fell  short  of  absolute  perfection,  would 
all  behave  alike.  Here  God's  goodness  demanded 
that  those  who  behaved  well  should  be  rewarded  ;  his 
sovereignty  insisted,  that  those  who  behaved  ill 
should  be  punished ;  and  his  distributive  justice 


254  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

and  EQUITY  required,  that  those  who  made  the  best 
use  of  their  talents  should  be  entitled  to  the  highest 
rewards ;  while  those  who  abused  divine  favours  inost, 
should  have  the  severest  punishments ;  mercy  reserv- 
ing to  itself  the  right  of  raising  rewards,  and  of  allevi- 
ating punishments,  in  a  way  suited  to  all  the  other 
divine  attributes. 

This  being  granted,  (and  I  do  not  see  how  any  man 
of  reason  and  piety  can  deny  it,)  it  evidently  follows : 
1.  That  a  world  in  which  various  orders  of  /ree,  as 
well  as  7iecessary  agents,  are  admitted,  is  inost  per- 
fect. 2.  That  this  world,  having  been  formed  upon  such 
a  wise  plan,  was  the  most  perfect  that  could  possibly  be 
created.  3.  That,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  evil 
viay,  although  there  is  no  necessity  it  should,  enter 
into  such  a  world ;  else  it  could  not  be  a  world  of 
free  agents  who  are  candidates  for  distributive  jus- 
tice. 4.  That  the  blemishes  and  disorders  of  the  na- 
tural world  are  only  penal  consequences  of  disobedience 
of  free  agents.  5.  That  from  such  penal  disorders  we 
may  indeed  conclude  that  man  has  abused  free  will, 
but  not  that  God  deals  in  free  wrath.  Only  admit, 
therefore,  the  free  will  of  rationals,  and  you  cannot  but 
fall  in  love  with  our  Creator's  plan,  dark  and  horrid  as 
it  appears  when  it  is  viewed  through  the  smoked  glass 
of  the  fatalist,  the  Manichee,  or  the  rigid  predestina- 
rian. 

But  Mr.  Toplady  inquires,  "  How  came  moral  evil  to 
be  permitted,  when  it  might  have  been  hindered,  by 
a  Being  of  infinite  goodness,  power,  and  wisdom  ?" 

Answer  1.  When  God  placed  man  in  paradise,  far 
from  permitting  him  to  sin,  he  strictly  forbade  him  to 
do  it.     Is  it  right  then  in  Mr.  Toplady  to  call  God  the 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  255 

permitter  of  sin,  when  tlie  Scriptures  represent  him  as 
the  forhidder  of  it  7  Nay,  is  it  not  very  wrong  to 
pour  shame  upon  the  holiness  of  God,  and  absurdity 
upon  the  reason  of  man,  by  making  a  Calvinistic  world 
believe  that  forbidding  and  threatening  is  one  and 
the  same  thing  with  permitting  and  giving  leave ; 
or,  at  least,  that  the  difference  is  so  trifling,  that  all  the 
sagacity  of  man  will  find  it  difficult,  not  to  say  im- 
possible, clearly  to  point  it  out  7 

2.  I  pretend  to  a  very  little  share  of  all  the  sagacity 
of  man ;  and  yet,  without  being  nonplused  at  all,  I 
hope  to  show,  by  the  following  illustration,  that  there  is 
a  prodigious  difference  between  not  hindering,  and 
desigji,  in  the  case  of  the  entering  in  of  sin. 

A  general  wants  to  try  the  faithfulness  of  his  soldiers, 
that  he  may  reward  those  who  loill  fight,  and  pnnish 
those  who  will  go  over  to  the  enemy ;  in  order  to  dis- 
play, before  all  the  army,  his  love  of  bravery,  his  liatred 
of  cowardice,  his  remunerative  goodness,  and  his  im- 
partial justice.  To  this  end  he  issues  out  a  proclama- 
tion, importing  that  all  the  volunteers  who  shall  gallantly 
keep  the  field  in  such  an  important  engagement  shall 
be  made  captains ;  and  all  those  who  shall  go  over  to 
the  enemy  shall  be  shot.  I  suppose  him  endued  with 
infinite  wisdom,  knowledge,  and  power.  By  his  om- 
niscience he  sees  that  some  laill  desert ;  by  his  omni- 
potence  he  coidd,  indeed,  hinder  them  from  doing  it ; 
for  he  coidd  chain  them  all  to  so  many  posts  stuck  in 
the  ground  around  their  colours:  but  hxsinfinite  wisdom 
does  not  permit  him  to  do  it ;  as  it  would  be  a  piece  of 
madness  in  him  to  defeat,  by  forcible  means,  his  design 
of  trying  the  courage  of  his  soldiers,  in  order  to  reipard 
and  punish  them  according  to  their  gallant  or  cow- 


256  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

ardly  behaviour  in  the  field.  And  therefore,  though  he 
is  persuaded  that  many  will  be  shot,  he  puts  his  procla- 
mation in  force,  because,  upon  the  whole,  it  will  best  an- 
swer his  wise  designs.  However,  as  he  does  not  desire, 
much  less  design,  that  any  of  his  soldiers  should  be 
shot  for  desertion,  he  does  what  his  wisdom  permits  him 
to  do  to  prevent  their  going  over  to  the  enemy  ;  and  yet, 
for  the  above-mentioned  reason,  he  does  not  absolutely 
hinder  them  from  doing  it.  Now  in  such  a  case,  who 
does  not  see  that  the  difference  in  not  absolutely  hin- 
dering and  designing  is  as  discernible  as  the  differ- 
ence between  reasmi  and  folly—or  between  tvisdom 
and  wickedness  ?  By  such  dangerous  insinuations  as 
that  which  this  illustration  exposes,  the  simple  are 
imperceptibly  led  to  confound  Christ  with  Belial,  and 
to  think  there  is  little  difference  between  the  celestial 
Parent  of  ^ooc?,  and  the  Manichean  parent  of  ^ooc?  and 
evil ; — the  Jafius  of  the  fatalists,  w^ho  wears  two  faces, 
an  angel's  face  and  a  devil's  face;  a  mongrel,  imaginary 
god  this,  whose  fancied  ways  are,  Uke  his  fancied  na- 
ture, full  of  duflicity. 

3.  To  the  preceding  illustration  I  beg  leave  to  add 
the  following  argument.  No  unprejudiced  person  will, 
I  hope,  refuse  his  assent  to  the  truth  of  this  proposi- 
tion. A  world  wherein  there  aie  ratiofial  free  agents, 
hke  angels  and  men  ; — irrational  free  agents,  like 
dogs  and  horses ; — necessary  agents,  like  plants  and 
trees ; — and  dead  matter,  like  stones  and  clods  of  earth  : 
— such  a  world,  I  say,  is  as  much  superior  in  perfection 
to  a  world  where  there  are  only  necessary  agents  and 
dead  matter,  as  a  place  inhabited  by  learned  men  and 
curious  beasts  contains  more  wonders  than  one  which 
is  only  stocked  with  fine  flowers  and  curious  stones. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  257 

If  this  be  granted,  it  necessarily  follows  that  this  world 
was  perfect,  calculated  to  display  His  infinite  power  and 
manifold  wisdom.  Now,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
rational  free  agents^  being  capable  of  knowing  their 
Creator,  owe  to  him  gratitude  and  obedience ;  and  to 
one  another,  assistance  and  love ;  and  therefore  they 
are  under  a  law,  which  [as  free  agents]  they  may 
keep  or  break,  as  they  please. 

"  But  could  not  God  necessitate  free  agents  to  keep 
the  law  they  are  under  ?" 

.  Yes,  says  Calvinism,  for  he  is  endued  with  infinite 
power :  but  Scripture,  good  sense,  and  matter  of  fact 
say  no :  because,  although  God  is  endued  with  infinite 
power,  he  is  also  endued  with  infinite  wisdom.  And  it 
would  be  as  absurd  to  create  free  agents  in  order  to 
necessitate  them,  as  to  do  a  thing  in  order  to  undo  it. 
Besides,  [I  repeat  it,]  God's  distributive  justice  could 
never  be  displayed,  nor  could  free  obedience  be  paid 
by  rationals,  and  crowned  by  the  Rewarder  and  Judge 
of  all  the  earth,  unless  rationals  were  free-willing  crea- 
tures ;  and  therefore,  the  moment  you  absolutely  neces- 
sitate them,  you  destroy  them  as  free  agents,  and  rob 
God  of  two  of  his  most  glorious  titles — that  of  Re- 
warder  and  that  of  Judge.  Thus  we  account  for  the 
origin  of  evil  in  a  Scriptural  and  rational  manner,  with- 
out the  help  of  fatalism,  Manicheeism,  or  Calvinism. 


258  BEAUTIE6  OF  FLETCHER. 

CHAPTER  XVIII, 
DIFFICULTIES  REMOVED. 

SECTION  I.  -^ 

REMARKS  ON  1  SAMUEL  II,  25.  THEY  [tHE  SONS  OF  ELl] 
HEARKENED  NOT  TO  THE  VOICE  OF  THEIR  FATHER,  BE- 
CAUSE THE  LORD  "WOULD  SLAY  THEM. 

This  passage  is  introduced  by  Mr.  Toplady  to  show 
that  the  Lord  secures  the  end  by  securing  the  means. 
By  the  decree  of  the  means  the  Lord  secured  the  disobe- 
dience of  these  wicked  men,  in  order  to  accomplish  the 
decree  of  the  end,  that  is,  their  absolute  destruction. 

To  this  Calvinian  insinuation  Mr.  Fletcher  answers  : 
1.  That  the  sons  of  Eli,  who  had  turned  the  taberna- 
cle into  a  house  of  ill  fame,  and  a  den  of  thieves,  had 
personally  deserved  a  judicial  reprobation ;  God,  there- 
fore, could  justly  give  them  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  in 
consequence  of  their  personal,  avoidable,  repeated,  and 
aggravated  crimes. 

2.  The  word  killing  does  not  here  necessarily  imply 
eternal  damnation.  The  Lord  killed,  by  a  lion,  the 
man  of  God  from  Judah,  for  having  stopped  in  Bethel : 
he  killed  Nadab  and  Abibu  for  offering  strange  fire: 
he  killed  the  child  of  David  and  Bathsheba  :  he  killed 
many  of  the  Corinthians  for  their  irreverent  partaking 
of  the  Lord's  supper :  but  the  sin  unto  [bodily]  death  is 
not  the  sin  unto  eternal  death ;  for  St.  Paul  informs, 
that  the  body  is  sometimes  given  up  to  Satan  for  the 
destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  he  saved 
in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  1  Cor.  v,  6. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  2S9 

3.  The  Hebrew  particle,  O,  which  is  rendered  in  our 
translation  because,  means  also  therefore :  and  so  our 
translators  themselves  have  rendered  it  after  St.  Paul 
and  the  Septuagint,  Psa.  cxvi,  10.  I  believed,  'D,  and 
therefore  will  I  speak :  see  2  Cor.  iv,  13.  If  they  had 
done  their  part  as  well  in  translating  the  verse  quoted 
by  Mr.  Toplady,  the  doctrine  oi  free  wrath  would  have 
gone  propless,  and  we  should  have  had  these  edifying 
words:  They  [the  sons  of  Eli]  hearkened  not  to  the 
voice  of  their  father,  and  therefore  the  Lord  would 
slay  them.  Thus  the  voluntary  sin  of  free  agents 
would  be  represented  as  the  cause  of  their  deserved 
reprobation ;  and  not  their  undeserved  reprobation  as 
the  cause  of  their  necessary  sin. 


SECTION  II. 

EXPLANATION   OF  ACTS  IV,  27,  28. 

For  of  a  truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom 
thou  hast  anointed,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate, 
with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  ga- 
thered together,  for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and 
thy  counsel  determined  before  to  be  done. 

With  respect  to  this  text,  if  it  be  rightly  translated, 
it  is  explained  by  these  words  of  St.  Peter,  Acts  ii,  23, 
which  declare  that  Christ  was  delivered  by  the  deter- 
minate counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God: — '-de- 
livered" as  a  ransom  for  all.  If  rightly  translated — 
with  Episcopius,  and  some  other  learned  critics,  I  dqubt 
it  is  not — why  should  it  not  be  read  thus  ?  For  of  a 
truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  {both  Herod  and 
Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of 


360  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

Israel,  were  gathered  together,)  for  to  do  whatsoever 
thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  to  he  done.  By 
putting  the  clause  both  Herod,  (fee,  in  a  parenthesis,  you 
have  this  evangeUcal  sense,  which  gives  no  handle  i<x 
the  pleaders  for  sin  :  Both  Herod  and  Pilate,  ^c,  were 
gathered  together  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom 
thou  hast  anointed  for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and 
counsel  determined  to  he  done.  I  prefer  this  reading 
to  the  common  for  the  following  reasons :  1.  It  is  per- 
fectly agreeable  to  the  Greek ;  and  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  the  sentence  is  expressive  of  the  peculiar 
earnestness  with  which  the  apostle  prayed.  2.  It  is 
attended  with  no  Manichean  inconveniency.  3.  It  is 
more  agreeable  to  the  context.  For  if  the  Sanhedrim 
was  gathered  hy  God^s  direction  and  decree,  in  order 
to  threaten  the  apostles,  with  what  propriety  could  they 
say,  [verse  29,]  Now,  Lord,  hehold  their  threatening  ? 
And,  4.  It  is  strongly  supported  by  verse  30,  where  Pe- 
ter [after  having  observed,  verses  27,  28,  according  to 
our  reading,  that  God  had  anointed  his  holy  child  Jesus 
to  do  all  the  miracles  which  he  did  on  earth]  prays,  that 
now  Christ  is  gone  to  heaven,  the  effects  of  this  power- 
ful anointing  may  continue,  and  signs  and  wonders 
may  he  done  hy  the  name  of  his  holy  child  Jesus. 

This  passage  then,  and  all  those  which  Mr.  Toplady 
has  produced,  or  may  yet  produce,  only  prove,  1.  That 
God  foresees  the  evil  which  is  in  the  heart  of  the 
wicked,  and  their  future  steps  in  peculiar  circumstances, 
with  ten  thousand  times  more  clearness  and  cer- 
tainty than  a  good  huntsman  foresees  all  the  windings, 
doublings,  and  shifts  of  a  hunted  fox :  and  that  he  over- 
rules their  wicked  counsels  to  the  execution  of  his  own 
wise  and  holy  designs.  a.s  a  good  rider  overrules  the 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  261 

mad  prancings  of  a  vicious  horse,  to  the  display  of  his 
perfect  skill  in  horsemanship,  and  to  the  treading  down 
of  the  enemy  in  a  day  of  battle.  2.  That  God  cafcAe* 
the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness;  and  to  punish  the 
wicked,  he  permits  their  wicked  counsels  to  be  defeated, 
and  their  best  concerted  schemes  to  prove  abortive. 
3.  That  he  frequently  tries  the  faith  and  exercises  the 
patience  of  good  men,  by  letting  loose  the  wicked  upon 
them,  as  in  the  case  of  Job  and  Christ.  4.  That  he 
often  punishes  the  wickedness  of  one  man  by  letting 
loose  upon  him  the  wickedness  of  another  man  ;  and 
that  he  frequently  avenges  himself  of  one  wicked  na- 
tion by  letting  loose  upon  it  the  wickedness  of  another 
nation.  Thus  he  let  Absalom  and  Shimei  loose 
upon  David.  Thus  the  Lord  let  loose  the  Phihstines 
upon  disobedient  Israel,  and  the  Romans  upon  the  ob- 
durate Jews.  5.  That  he  sometimes  lets  a  wicked  man 
loose  upon  himself,  as  in  the  case  of  Ahithophel,  Na- 
bal,  and  Judas,  who  became  their  own  executioners. 
6.  That  when  wicked  men  are  going  to  commit  some 
atrocious  wickedness,  he  sometimes  inclines  their  hearts 
so  to  relent  that  they  commit  a  less  crime  than  they 
intended.  For  instance :  when  Joseph's  brethren  were 
going  to  starve  him  to  death,  by  providential  circum- 
stances God  inchned  their  hearts  to  spare  his  life: 
thus,  instead  of  starving  him,  they  only  sold  him  into 
Egypt. 


269  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  CAUTION  AGAINST  THE  TENET  THAT  "WHATEVER 
IS,  IS  RIGHT." 

That  "whatever  is,  is  right,  or  will  answer  some 
great  end  in  relation  to  the  whole,"  says  Mr.  Toplady, 
"  is  a  first  principle  of  the  Bible  and  of  sound  reason?'' 

Whatever  the  true  God  works  is  undoubtedly  right. 
But  if  the  Deity  absolutely  works  ail  things  in  all  men, 
good  and  bad,  it  evidently  follows,  1.  That  the  two-prin- 
cipled  Deity   preached    by   Manes  is   the  true   God. 

2.  That  the  bad  principle  of  this  double  deity  works 
wickedness  in  the  wicked^  as  necessarily  as  the  good 
principle  works  righteousness  in  the  righteous.     And, 

3.  That  the  original  of  wickedness  being  divine,  wick- 
edness is  as  right  as  the  Deity  from  whom  it  flows. 

Error  is  never  more  dangerous  than  when  it  looks  a 
little  like  truth.  But  when  it  is  imposed  upon  the  sim- 
ple as  a  first  principle  of  the  Bible  and  sound  reason, 
it  makes  dreadful  work.  How  conclusively  will  a  rigid 
predestinarian  reason  if  he  says,  "Whatever  is,  is 
right ;  and  therefore  sin  is  right.  Again :  it  is  wrong 
to  hinder  what  is  right:  sin  is  right;  and  therefore 
it  is  wrong  to  hinder  sin.  Once  more :  we  ought  to 
do  what  is  right :  sin  is  right ;  and  therefore  we  ought 
to  commit  sin." 

Now,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Toplady's  first  principle, 
I  assert  as  a  first  principle  of  reason,  that,  though  it 
was  right  in  God  not  absolutely  to  hinder  sin,  yet  sin  is 
always  wrong.  "O,  but  God  permitted  it,  and  will 
get  himself  glory  by  displaying  his  vindictive  justice  in 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  263 

punishing  it :  for  '  the  ministration  of  condemnation  is 
glorious.^ "  This  argument  has  deluded  many  a  pious 
Calvinist.  To  overthrow  it,  however,  I  need  only  ob- 
serve, that  the  ministration  of  righteousness  exceeds 
in  glory  the  ministration  of  condemnation. 

In  what  respect  is  sin  right?  Can  it  be  right  in 
respect  of  God,  if  it  brings  him  less  glory  than  right- 
eousness? Can  it  be  right  in  respect  of  man,  if  it 
bring  temporal  misery  upon  all,  and  eternal  misery  upon 
some?  Can  it  be  right  in  respect  of  the  Adamic  law, 
the  law  of  Moses,  or  the  law  of  Christ?  Certainly 
no  :  for  sin  is  equally  the  transgression  of  all  these  laws. 
"  O,  but  it  is  right  with  respect  to  the  evangelical  pro- 
mise." By  no  means :  for  the  evangelical  promise,  vul- 
garly called  the  gospel,  testifies  of  Christ,  the  destroyer 
of  sin,  and  offers  us  a  remedy  against  sin.  Now  if  sin 
were  right,  the  gospel  which  remedies  it,  and  Christ 
who  destroys  it,  would  be  wrong.  I  conclude  then, 
that  if  sin  be  right,  neither  with  respect  of  God,  nor 
with  respect  of  man ;  neither  with  regard  to  the  law, 
nor  with  regard  to  the  gospel;  it  is  right  in  no  shape, 
it  is  wrong  in  every  point  of  view. 

"  But  luhy  did  God  permit  it  ?"  Indeed,  he  never 
did  properly  permit  it,  unless  to  forbid  in  the  most  sol- 
emn manner,  and  under  the  severest  penalty,  is  the 
same  thing  as  to  permit.  But,  '•'  Why  did  not  God  ab- 
solutely hinder  sin  ?"  I  answer,  1.  Because  his  wisdom 
saw  that  a  world  where  free  agents  and  necessary 
agents  are  mixed,  is  better  [all  things  considered]  than 
a  world  stocked  with  nothing  but  necessary  agents,  i.  e., 
creatures  absolutely  hindered  from  sinning.  2.  Be- 
cause his  distributive  justice  could  be  displayed  no 
other  way  than  by  the  creation  of  accountable  free 


?64  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

agents^  made  with  an  eye  to  a  day  of  judgment. 
3.  Because  it  would  be  as  ^absurd  to  necessitate  free 
agents,  as  to  bid  free  agents  he,  that  they  might  not  be 
free  agents ; — as  foolish  as  to  form  accountable  crea- 
tures, that  they  might  not  be  accountable.  And,  4.  Be- 
cause when  God  saw  that  the  free  agency  of  his 
creatures  wpuld  introduce  sin,  he  determined  to  over- 
rule it,  or  remedy  it  in  such  a  manner  as  would,  upon 
the  whole,  render  this  world,  with  all  the  voluntary 
evil  and  voluntary  good  in  it,  better  than  a  world  of 
necessary  agents,  where  nothing  but  necessary  good 
would  have  been  displayed :  an  inferior  sort  of  good 
this,  which  would  no  more  have  admitted  of  the  exer- 
cise of  God's  political  wisdom  and  distributive  justice, 
than  the  excellence  of  precious  stones  and  fine  flowers 
admits  of  laws,  rewards,  and  punishments. 

Should  the  reader  ask  how  far  we  may  safely  go  to 
meet  the  truth  which  borders  most  on  Mr.  Toplady's 
false  principle,  that  ^^  whatever  is,  is  right  ?'^  I  answer, 
1.  We  may  grant,  nay,  we  ought  to  assert,  that  God 
will  get  himself  glory  every  way.  Evangelical  grace 
and  just  wrath  minister  to  his  praise,  though  not 
equally :  and  therefore  God  willeth  not  primarily  the 
death  of  his  creatures.  Punishment  is  his  strange 
work;  and  he  dehghteth  more  in  the  exercise  of  his 
remunerative  goodness  than  in  the  exercise  of  his  vin- 
dictive justice.  2.  Hence  it  appears,  that  the  wrath  of 
man  and  the  rage  of  the  devil  will  turn  to  Godh  praise: 
but  it  is  only  to  his  inferior  praise.  For  though  the 
blessed  wiU  sing  loud  hallelujahs  to  divine  justice  when 
vengeance  shall  overtake  the  ungodly ;  and  though  the 
consciences  of  the  ungodly  will  give  God  glory,  and 
testify  that  he  is  holy  in  all  his  works,  and  righteous  in 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  265 

all  his  vindictive  ways ;  yet,  this  glory  will  be  only  the 
glory  of  the  ministration  of  condemnation  : — a  dispen- 
sation this  which  is  inferior  to  the  dispensation  of  right- 
eous mercy.  Hence  it  appears,  that  those  who  die  in 
their  sins  would  have  brought  more  glory  to  God  by 
choosing  righteousness  and  life,  than  they  do  by  choos- 
ing death  in  the  error  of  their  ways.  But  still,  this 
inferior  praise,  arising  from  the  condemnation  and 
punishment  of  ungodly  free  agents — this  inferior 
praise,  I  say,  mixed  with  the  superior  praise  arising 
.  from  \he  justification  and  rewai'ds  oi  godly  free  agents, 
will  far  exceed  the  praise  which  might  have  accrued  to 
God  from  the  unavoidable  obedience  and  absurd  re- 
wards of  necessitated  agents — of  angels  and  men  abso- 
lutely bound  to  obey  by  a  necessitating  grace,  like  that 
which  rigid  bound-willers  preach  :  were  we  even  to  sup- 
pose that  this  forcible  grace  had  Calvinistically  caught  all 
rational  creatures  in  a  net  of  finished  salvation,  and  had 
drawn  them  all  to  heaven  as  irresistibly  as  Simon  Pe- 
ter drew  the  net  to  land  full  of  great  fishes,  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  and  three.  For,  before  the  Lawgiver 
and  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  the  un necessitated,  volun- 
tary goodness  of  one  angel,  or  one  man,  is  more  excel- 
lent than  the  necessary  goodness  of  a  world  of  creatures 
as  unavoidably  and  passively  virtuous  as  a  diamond  is 
unavoidably  and  passively  bright. 

With  respect  to  the  second  part  of  Mr.  Toplady's 
doctrine,  that  whatever  is,  is  right,  because""  it  will 
answer  some  great  end,  <^c.,  in  relation  to  the  whole;" 
it  is  nothing  but  logical  paint  put  on  a  false  principle 
to  cover  its  deformity;  for  error  can  imitate  Jezebel, 
who  laid  natural  paint  on  her  withered  face  to  fill  up 
her  hideous  wrinicles.  and  impose  on  the  spectators.  I 
12 


266  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

may  perhaps  prove  it  by  an  illustration.  I  want  to  de- 
monstrate that  cheating,  extortion,  htigiousness,  break- 
ing the  peace,  robberies,  and  murders  are  all  right ; 
and  I  do  it  by  asserting  ^^that  they  answer  some  great 
ends  in  relation  to  the  whole;  for  they  employ  the 
parliament  in  making  laws  to  prevent,  end,  or  punish 
them;  they  afford  business  to  all  the  judges,  magis- 
trates, lawyers,  sheriffs,  constables,  jailers,  turnkeys, 
thief-catchers,  and  executioners  in  the  kingdom:  and 
when  robbers  and  murderers  are  hanged,  they  reflect 
praise  upon  the  government  which  extirpates  them : 
they  strike  terror  into  the  wicked  ;  and  their  untimely, 
dreadful  end,  sets  off  the  happiness  of  a  virtuous  course 
of  Ufe,  and  the  bliss  which  crowns  the  death  of  the 
righteous.  Besides,  many  murderers  and  robbers  have 
been  brought  to  Christ  for  pardon  and  salvation,  like 
the  dying  thief,  who  by  his  robbery  had  the  good  luck 
to  meet  Christ  on  the  cross:  so  that  his  own  gallows,  as 
well  as  our  Lord's  cross,  proved  the  tree  of  life  to  that 
happy  felon."  The  mischievous  absurdity  of  these 
pleas  for  the  excellence  of  wickedness  puts  me  in  mind 
of  the  arguments  by  which  a  greedy  publican  in  my 
parish  once  exculpated  himself,  when  I  reproved  him 
for  encouraging  tippling  and  drunkenness.  "  The 
more  ale  we  sell,"  said  he,  "  the  greater  is  the  king's 
revenue.  If  it  were  not  for  us  the  king  could  not  live ; 
nor  could  he  pa}'^  the  fleet  and  army :  and  if  we  had 
neither  fleet  nor  army,  we  should  soon  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  French."  So  great  are  the  ends  which 
tippling  answers  in  its  relation  to  the  whole  British 
empire,  if  we  may  believe  a  tapster,  who  pleads  for 
drunkenness  as  plausibly  as  some  good  mistaken  men 
do  for  all  manner  of  wickedness. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  367 

From  the  whole,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  we  may  safely 
conclude  that,  though  all  God's  works  are  right,  yet 
sin,  the  work  of  fallen  angels  and  fallen  men,  is  never 
right ;  and  that,  though  the  universe,  with  all  its  sin- 
fulness, is  better  than  a  sinless  world  necessitated  to 
be  sinless  by  the  destruction  oi  free  agents,  yet,  as 
there  is  so  much  sin  in  the  world,  through  the  wrong 
use  which  free  agents  make  of  their  powers,  Mr.  T. 
advances  an  unscriptural  and  irrational  maxim  when 
he  says,  that  whatever  is,  is  right.  And  he  imposes 
upon  us  an  Antinomian  paradox  when  he  asserts  that 
this  dangerous  maxim  "  is  a  first  principle  of  the  Bible 
and  of  sound  reason."  I  repeat  it :  it  was  right  in  God 
to  create  free  agents,  to  put  them  under  a  practicable 
law,  and  to  determine  to  punish  them  according  to 
their  works,  if  they  wantonly  broke  that  law ;  but  it 
could  never  be  right  in  free  agents  to  break  it,  unless 
God  had  bound  them  to  do  it  by  making  Calvinian 
decrees  necessarily  productive  of  sin  and  wickedness. 
And  supposing  God  had  forbid  free  agents  to  sin  by  hia 
law,  and  had  necessitated  [which  is  more  than  to 
enjoin]  them  to  sin  by  Calvinian  decrees ;  we  desire 
Mr.  T.  to  show  how  it  could  have  been  right  in  God 
to  forbid  sin  by  law,  to  necessitate  men  to  sin  by  a 
decree,  and  to  send  them  to  eternal  fire  for  not  keeping 
a  law  which  he  had  necessitated  them  to  break. 


268  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  MIDDLE  WAY  BETWEEN  CALVINIAN  PROVIDENCE 
AND  CHANCE. 

Mr.  Toplady,  after  charging  Pelagianism  on  Mr. 
Wesley,  says,  "  I  defy  the  Pelagian  to  strike  out  a 
middle  way  between  providence  and  chance." 

This  challenge  is  too  important  to  be  disregarded. 
There  are  two  opposite  errors  with  respect  to  jjrovi- 
dence.  The  first  is  that  of  the  Epicurean  philosophers, 
who  thought  that  God  does  not  concern  himself  about 
our  sins,  but  leaves  us  to  go  on  as  we  please,  and  as 
chance  directs.  The  second  is  that  of  the  rigid  pre- 
destinarians,  who  imagine  that  God  absolutely  predes- 
tinates sin,  and  necessarily  brings  it  about  to  accom- 
plish his  absolute  decrees  of  eternally  saving  some  men 
through  Christ,  and  eternally  damning  all  the  rest  of 
mankind  through  Adam.  Of  these  two  erroneous  sen- 
timents the  latter  appears  to  us  the  worse,  seeing  it  is 
better  to  represent  God  as  doing  nothing  than  to  repre- 
sent him  as  doing  wickedness.  The  truth  lies  between 
these  two  opinions;  God's  providence  is  fecidiarly 
concerned  about  sin,  but  it  does  by  no  means  necessa- 
rily bring  it  about.  By  this  reasonable  doctrine  we 
answer  Mr.  T.'s  challenge,  and  strike  out  the  middle 
way  between  his  error  and  that  of  Epicurus. 

If  you  ask  how  far  God's  providence  is  concerned 
about  sin  ?  we  reply,  that  it  is  concerned  about  it  four 
ways  :  First,  in  morally  hindering  the  internal  com- 
mission of  it  before  it  is  committed  ;  secondly,  in  pro- 
videntially hindering  [at  times]  the  external  commis- 


BEATJTIES    OF  FLETCHER.  260 

sion  of  it,  when  it  has  been  intentionally  committed ; 
thirdly,  in  marking,  bounding,  and  overruhng  it  while 
it  is  committed  ;  d^nA  fourthly,  in  bringing  about  means 
of  properly  pardoning  or  exemplarily  punishing  it  after 
it  has  been  committed.  Dwell  we  a  moment  on  each 
of  these  particulars. 

1.  Before  sin  is  committed,  divine  providence  is 
engaged  in  morally  hindering  the  internal  commission 
of  it.  In  order  to  this,  God  does  two  things :  First,  he 
forbids  sin  by  natural,  verbal,  or  written  laws ;  and 
secondly,  he  keeps  up  our  powers  of  body  and  soul ; 
enduing  us  with  liberty,  whereby  we  may  abstain,  Uke 
moral  agents,  from  the  commission  of  sin ;  furnishing 
us  besides  with  a  variety  of  motives  and  helps  to  resist 
every  temptation  to  sin.  A  great  variety  this,  which 
includes  God's  threatenings  and  promises ;  all  his  ex- 
hortations and  warnings ;  all  the  checks  of  our  con- 
sciences and  the  strivings  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  all  the 
counsels  of  good  men,  and  the  exemplary  punishments 
of  the  wicked ;  together  with  the  tears  and  blood  of 
Christ,  and  other  peculiar  means  of  grace,  which  God 
has  appointed  to  keep  Christians  from  sin,  and  to 
strengthen  them  in  the  performance  of  their  duty. 

2.  When  sin  is  committed  in  the  intention,  God 
frequently  prevents  the  outward  commission,  or  the  full 
completion  of  it,  by  peculiar  interpositions  of  his  provi- 
dence. Thus  he  hindered  the  men  of  Sodom  from 
injuring  Lot,  by  striking  them  with  blindness ;  he  hin- 
dered Pharaoh  from  enslaving  the  Israelites,  by  drown- 
ing him  in  the  Red  Sea ;  he  hindered  Balaam  from 
cursing  Israel,  by  putting  a  bridle  in  his  mouth;  he 
hindered  Jeroboam  from  hurting  the  prophet  who  came 
out  of  Judah,  by  drying  up  his  royal  hand  when  he 


??70  BBAUTIIS   OF   FLETCHBR. 

Stretched  it  forth,  saying,  «iay  hold  on  himf^  he 
hindered  Herod  from  destroying  the  holy  child  Jesus, 
by  warning  Joseph  to  flee  into  Egypt,  &c.,  &c.  The 
Scriptures  and  the  history  of  the  world  are  full  of  ac- 
counts of  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  interpositions 
of  divine  providence,  respecting  the  detection  of  intended 
mischief,  and  the  preservation  of  persons  and  states, 
whom  the  wicked  intended  to  destroy.  And  to  go  no 
farther  than  England,  the  providential  discovery  of  the 
gunpowder  plot  is  as  remarkable  an  instance  as  any 
that  God  keeps  a  watchful  eye  upon  the  counsels  of 
men,  and  confounds  their  devices  whenever  he  pleases. 
3.  During  the  commission  of  sin,  God's  providence  is 
engaged  in  marking  it,  in  setting  bounds  to  it,  or  over- 
ruling it,  in  a  manner  quite  contrary  to  the  expectation 
of  sinners.  When  Joseph's  brethren  contrived  the  get- 
ting money  by  selling  him  into  Egypt,  God  contrived 
the  preservation  of  Jacob's  household.  Thus,  when 
Haman  contrived  a  gallows  to  hang  Mordecai,  the  Lord 
so  overruled  this  cruel  design  that  Haman  was  hung  on 
that  very  gallows.  Thus,  when  Satan  wanted  to  de- 
stroy Job,  God  set  bounds  to  his  rage,  and  bid  the  fierce 
accuser  spare  the  good  man's  life.  That  envious  fiend 
did  his  worst  to  make  the  patient  saint  curse  God  to 
his  face ;  but  the  Lord  so  overruled  his  malice  that  it 
worked  for  good  to  Job :  for  when  Job's  patience  had 
had  its  perfect  work,  all  his  misfortunes  ended  in  double 
prosperity,  and  all  his  tempestuous  tossings  raised  him 
to  a  higher  degree  of  perfection.  Thus,  again,  to  pre- 
serve the  seed  of  the  righteous,  God  formerly  kept  a 
hundred  prophets,  and  seven  hundred  true . Israelites, 
from  the  cruelty  of  Jezebel ;  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
sincere  Christians  in  Judea,  he  shortened  the  great 


BEAUTIES  or  FLETCHER.  271 

tribulation  spoken  of  Matt,  xxiv,  22.  When  the  un- 
godly are  most  busy  in  sinning,  the  providence  of  God 
is  most  employed  in  counterworking  their  sin,  in  put- 
ting bounds  to  their  desperate  designs,  and  in  making 
a  way  for  the  godly  to  escape  out  of  temptation,  that 
they  7nay  he  able  to  bear  it :  for  the  rod  of  the  un- 
godly Cometh  not  [with  its  full  force]  into  the  lot  of 
the  righteous,  lest  the  righteous  put  forth  their 
hand  into  iniquity,  through  such  powerful  and  lasting 
temptations  as  would  make  it  impossible  for  them  to 
stand  firm  in  the  way  of  duty,  Psa.  cxxv,  3. 

4.  When  sin  is  actually  committed,  the  providence 
of  God,  in  conjunction  with  his  mercy  and  justice,  is 
employed  either  in  using  means  to  bring  sinners  to 
repentance,  confession,  and  pardon,  or  in  inflicting  upon 
them  such  punishments  as  seem  most  proper  to  divine 
wisdom.  To  be  convinced  of  it,  read  the  history  of 
man's  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ ;  mark  the  various 
steps  by  which  providence  brings  the  guilty  to  convic- 
tion, the  penitent  to  pardon,  the  finally  impenitent  to 
destruction,  and  all  to  some  degree  of  punishment.  By 
what  an  amazing  train  of  providential  dispensations 
were  Joseph's  brethren,  for  instance,  brought  to  remem- 
ber, lament,  and  smart  for  their  cruel  behaviour  to  him ! 
And  how  did  God,  by  various  afllictions,  bring  his  re- 
bellious people  to  consider  their  ways,  and  to  humble 
themselves  before  him  in  the  land  of  their  captivity ! 
Wha:  an  amazing  work  had  divine  providence  in 
checking  and  punishing  the  sin  of  Pharaoh  in  Egypt, 
that  of  the  Israehtes  in  the  wilderness,  that  of  David 
and  his  house  in  Jerusalem,  and  that  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  Belshazzar  in  Babylon  ! 

Evangelically  and  providentially  opening  the  way  for 


272        #    BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

the  return  of  sinners,  and  repaying  obdurate  offenders 
to  their  faces,  make  one  half  of  God's  work,  as  he  is 
the  gracious  and  righteous  Governor  of  men.  We  can- 
not doubt  it,  if  we  take  notice  of  the  innumerable  means 
by  which  conversions  and  punishments  are  brought 
about.  To  touch  only  upon  punishments :  some  ex- 
tend to  the  sea,  others  to  the  land ;  some  spread  over 
particular  districts,  others  over  whole  kingdoms ;  some 
affect  a  whole  family,  and  others  a  whole  community ; 
some  affect  the  soul,  and  others  the  body;  some  fall 
only  upon  one  limb,  or  one  of  the  senses,  others  upon 
the  whole  animal  frame  and  all  the  senses ;  some  affect 
our  well-being,  others  our  being  itself;  some  are  con- 
fined to  this  world,  and  others  extend  to  a  future  state ; 
some  are  of  a  temporal  and  others  of  an  eternal  nature. 
Now,  since  providence,  in  subservience  to  divine  justice, 
manages  all  these  punishments  and  innumerable  con- 
sequences, how  mistaken  is  Mr.  T.  when  he  insinuates 
that  our  doctrine  supposes  God  to  be  an  idle  spectator 
while  sin  is  committed. 

5.  With  respect  to  the  gracious  tempers  of  the  right- 
eous, we  believe  that  they  all  flow  [though  without 
Calvinian  necessity]  from  the  free  gift  which  is  come 
upon  all  men,  and  from  the  light  which  enlighteneth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  And  as  to 
their  good  works,  we  are  so  far  from  excluding  divine 
grace  and  providence,  in  order  to  exalt  absolute  free 
will,  that  we  assert,  Not  one  good  work  would  ever  be 
begun,  continued,  or  ended,  if  divine  grace  within  us, 
and  divine  providence  without  us,  did  not  animate  our 
souls,  support  our  bodies,  help  our  infirmities,  and  [to 
use  the  language  of  our  church]  ^^  prevent,  accompany, 
and  follow  us^'  through  the  whole.     And  yet  in  all 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.    i  273 

moral,  and  in  inany  natural  actions,  we  are  as  free 
from  the  laws  of  Calvinian  necessity  as  from  those  of 
the  great  mogul. 

6.  With  regard  to  the  families  and  kingdoms  of  this 
world,  we  assert  that  God's  providence  either  baffles, 
controls,  or  sets  bounds  to  the  bad  designs  of  the 
wicked ;  while  it  has  the  principal  hand  in  succeeding 
the  good  designs  of  the  righteous,  as  often  as  they  have 
any  success:  for,  except  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  as 
well  as  the  watchman,  the  watchman  waketh  hut  in 
vain.  And  with  respect  to  the  course  of  nature,  we 
believe  that  it  is  ordered  by  his  unerring  counsel.  With 
a  view  to  maintain  order  in  the  universe,  his  providen- 
tial wisdom  made  admirable  laws  of  attraction,  repul- 
sion, generation,  fermentation,  vegetation,  and  dissolu- 
tion. And  his  providential  power  and  watchfulness 
are,  though  without  either  labour  or  anxiety,  continually 
engaged  in  conducting  all  things  according  to  those 
laws ;  except  when,  on  proper  occasions,  he  suspends 
the  influence  of  his  own  natural  decrees ;  and  then  fire 
may  cease  to  burn,  iron  to  sink  in  water,  and  hungry 
lions  to  devour  their  helpless  prey.  Nay,  at  the  beck 
of  Omnipotence,  a  widow's  cruise  of  oil  and  barrel  of 
meal  shall  be  filled  without  the  help  of  the  olive-tree, 
and  the  formality  of  a  growing  harvest ;  a  dry  rod  shall 
suddenly  blossom,  and  a  green  fig-tree  shall  instantly 
be  dried  up ;  garments  in  daily  use  shall  not  wear  out 
in  forty  years ;  a  prophet  shall  live  forty  days  without 
food ;  the  liquid  waves  shall  afford  a  solid  walk  to  a 
believing  apostle ;  a  fish  shall  bring  back  the  piece  of 
money  which  it  had  swallowed;  and  water  shall  be 
turned  into  wine  without  the  gradual  process  of  vege- 
tation. 

12* 


274  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

If  Mr.  T.  do  us  the  justice  to  weigh  these  six  obser- 
vations upon  the  prodigious  work  which  God's  provi- 
dence carries  on  in  the  moral,  spiritual,  and  natural 
world,  according  to  our  doctrine,  we  hope  he  will  no 
more  intimate  that  we  atheistically  deny,  or  heretically 
defame,  that  divine  attribute. 

To  conclude :  we  exactly  steer  our  course  between 
rigid  free-willers,  who  suppose  they  are  independent 
on  God's  providence,  and  rigid  bound-willers,  who 
fancy  they  do  nothing  but  what  fate  or  God's  provi- 
dence absolutely  binds  them  to  do.  We  equally  detest 
the  error  of  Epicurus  and  that  of  Mr.  Toplady.  The 
former  taught  that  God  took  no  notice  of  sin  ;  the  latter 
says  that  God,  by  efficacious  permissions  and  irre- 
sistible decrees,  absolutely  necessitates  men  to  commit 
it.  But  we  maintain,  that  although  God  never  abso- 
lutely necessitated  his  creatures  to  sin,  yet  his  provi- 
dence is  remarkably  employed  about  sin  in  all  the 
above  described  ways.  And  if  Mr.  Toplady  will  call 
us  defamers  of  divine  providence  and  Atheists,  be- 
cause we  dare  not  represent  God,  directly  or  indirectly, 
as  the  author  of  sin,  we  rejoice  in  so  honourable  a 
reproach;  and  humbly  trust  that  this,  as  well  as  all 
manner  of  similar  evil,  is  rashly  said  of  us  for  right- 
eousness' sake. 


♦•* 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  275 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  Mr.  Fletcher's 
"  Last  Check  to  Antinomianism  ;  a  polemical  essay  on 
the  twin  doctrines  of  Christian  imperfection  and  death 
purgatory."  The  compiler  finds  it  exceedingly  difficult 
to  make  extracts  from  this  volume  agreeably  to  the  plan 
he  has  proposed,  without  doing  an  injury  to  the  writer ; 
on  account  that  the  whole  essay  is  so  excellent,  and 
each  part  so  connected,  the  whole  must  be  read  in  order 
to  understand  the  subject,  or  duly  appreciate  the  talents 
of  the  author.  In  this  selection  he  has  done  the  best 
he  could,  and  can  only  hope  that  what  he  has  here 
presented  will  serve  to  show  the  reader  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
is  an  admirable  writer  on  this  as  well  as  on  the  fore- 
going subjects,  and  induce  him  to  procure  and  read  the 
essay  in  its  original  form.  But  especially  he  hopes  to 
furnish  the  reader  with  a  condensed  view  of  the  argu- 
ments by  which  the  doctrine  of  holiness  is  supported, 
and  the  practicabihty  of  answering  the  objections  which 
are  usually  urged  against  it.  He  hopes,  also,  that  such 
will  be  the  force  with  which  the  arguments  will  strike 
the  reader,  that  he  will  be  induced  to  see  what  is  his 
duty  and  privilege  as  a  Christian,  and  be  excited 
earnestly  to  seek  for  the  attainment,  in  his  own  per- 
sonal experience,  of  all  the  heights  and  depths  of 

PERFECT  LOVE. 

T.S. 


276  BEAUTIES   OF    FLETCHER. 

SECTION   I. 
THE   DOCTRINE   OF   CHRISTIAN   PERFECTION   STATED. 

When  a  late  fellow  of  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  at- 
tacked the  doctrine  of  sincere  obedience  which  1  defend 
in  the  Checks,  he  said  with  great  truth,  "  Sincere  obe- 
dience, as  a  condition,  will  lead  you  unavoidably  up 
to  PERFECT  obedience."  What  he  urged  as  an  argu- 
ment against  our  views  of  the  gospel  is  one  of  the 
reasons  by  which  we  defend  them,  and  perhaps  the 
strongest  of  all :  for  our  doctrine  leads  as  naturally  to 
holiness  and  perfect  obedience,  as  that  of  our  opponents 
does  to  sin  and  imperfection.  If  the  streams  of  Mr. 
HilVs  doctrine  never  stop  till  they  have  carried  men 
into  a  sea  of  indwelling  sin,  where  he  leaves  them  to 
struggle  with  waves  of  immorality,  or  with  billows  of 
corruption,  all  the  days  of  their  hfe ;  it  is  evident  that 
our  doctrine,  which  is  the  very  reverse  of  his,  must  take 
us  to  a  sea  of  indwelling  holiness,  where  we  calmly 
outride  all  the  storms  which  Satan  raised  to  destrov 
Job's  perfection,  and  where  all  our  pursuing  corrup- 
tions are  as  much  destroyed  as  the  Egyptians  were  in 
the  Red  Sea. 

Reader,  I  plead  for  the  most  precious  liberty  in  the 
world — heart  liberty  ;  for  liberty  from  the  most  galling 
of  all  yokes,  the  yoke  of  heart  corruption.  Let  not 
thy  prejudice  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  important  plea.  If 
thou  candidly,  believingly,  and  practically  receive  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  it  shall  make  thee  free,  and 
thou,  shall  be  free  indeed. 

Most  of  the  controversies  which  arise  between  men 
who  fear  God  spring  from  the  hurry  with  which  some 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  277 

men  find  fault  with  what  they  have  not  yet  examined. 
Why  does  Mr.  Hill,  at  the  head  of  the  Calvinists, 
attack  the  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  which  we 
contend  for?  Is  it  because  he  and  they  are  sworn 
enemies  to  righteousness,  and  zealous  protectors  of 
iniquity  ?  Not  at  all.  The  grand  reason,  next  to  their 
Calvinian  prejudices,  is  their  inattention  to  the  question, 
and  to  the  arguments  by  which  our  sentiments  are 
supported.  If  producing  light  is  the  best  method  of 
opposing  dark7iess,  setting  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
perfection  in  a  proper  point  of  view  will  be  the  best 
means  of  opposing  the  doctrines  of  Christian  imper- 
fection and  of  a  death  purgatory. 

Christian  perfection!  Why  should  the  harmless 
phrase  offend  us?  The  word  perfection  comes  from 
the  Latin  perficio,  to  perfect,  to  fnish,  to  accomplish. 
We  give  the  name  Christian  perfection  to  that  ma- 
turity of  grace  and  holiness  which  established  adult 
believers  attain  to  under  the  Christian  dispensation  ; 
and  thus  we  distinguish  that  maturity  of  grace  both 
from  the  ripeness  of  grace  which  belongs  to  the  Jews 
below  us,  and  from  the  ripeness  of  glory  which  belongs 
to  departed  saints  above  us.  Hence  it  appears,  that 
by  Christian  perfection  we  mean  nothing  but  the 
cluster  and  maturity  of  the  graces  which  compose  the 
Christian  church  militant. 

In  other  words,  Christian  perfection  is  a  spiritual 
constellation  made  up  of  these  gracious  stars,  perfect 
repentance,  perfect  faith,  perfect  hum,ility,  perfect 
meektiess,'  perfect  self-denial,  perfect  resignation, 
perfect  hope,  perfect  charity  for  our  visible  enemies 
as  well  as  for  our  earthly  relations ;  and,  above  all, 
perfect  love  for  our  invisible  God,  through  the  explicit 


278  BEAUTIES  OT  FLETCHER. 

knowledge  of  our  Mediator,  Jesus  Christ.  And  as  the 
last  star  is  always  accompanied  by  all  the  others,  as 
Jupiter  is  by  his  satellites,  we  frequently  use,  as  St. 
John,  the  phrase  perfect  love  instead  of  the  word  per- 
fection, understanding  by  it  the  pure  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  the  hearts  of  established  believers. 


SECTION  II. 

IS    CHRISTIAN    PERFECTION    A    SINLESS    PERFECTION  ? 

Should  Mr.  Hill  ask  if  the  Christian  perfection 
which  we  contend  for  is  a  sinless  perfection,  we  reply, 
Sin  is  the  transgression  of  a  divine  law,  and  man 
may  be  considered  either  as  being  under  the  anti- 
evangelical,  Christless,  remediless  law  of  our  Crea- 
tor, or  as  being  under  the  evangelical,  mediatorial, 
remedi/ing  law  of  our  Redeemer ;  and  the  question 
must  be  answered  according  to  the  nature  of  these  two 
laws. 

With  respect  to  the  first,  that  is,  the  Adamic,  Christ- 
less  law  of  innocence  and  paradisiacal  perfection,  we 
utterly  renounce  the  doctrine  of  sinless  perfection,  for 
three  reasons :  1.  We  are  conceived  and  born  in  a 
state  of  sinful  degeneracy,  whereby  that  law  is  already 
virtually  broken ;  2.  Our  mental  and  bodily  powers  are 
so  enfeebled  that  we  cannot  help  actually  breaking  that 
law  in  numberless  instances,  even  after  our  fidl  con- 
version ;  and,  3.  When  once  we  have  broken  that  law, 
it  considers  us  as  transgressors  for  ever :  nor  can  it  any 
more  pronounce  us  sinless  than  the  rigorous  law  which 
condemns  a  man  to  be  hanged  for  murder  can  absolve 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  279 

a  murderer,  let  his  repentance  and  feith  be  ever  so 
perfect. 

But  Christ  has  so  completely  fulfilled  our  Creator's 
paradisiacal  law  of  innocence,  that  we  shall  not  be 
judged  by  that  law,  but  by  a  law  adapted  to  our  pre- 
sent state  and  circumstances — a  milder  law,  called  the 
law  of  Christ,  i.  e.,  the  Mediator's  law,  which  is,  hke 
himself,  full  of  evangelical  grace  and  truth.  We  are, 
therefore,  not  without  law  to  God,  nor  yet  under  a 
Christless  law  with  Adam,  hut  under  a  law  to  Christ, 
that  is,  under  the  law  of  our  royal  Priest,  the  evangeli- 
cal law  of  liberty.  A  more  gracious  law  this,  which 
allocs  a  sincere  repentance,  and  is  fulfilled  by  loving 
faith.  Now,  as  we  shall  be  judged  by  this  laiD  of 
liberty,  we  maintain  not  only  that  it  may,  but  also 
that  it  niu^t,  be  kept ;  and  that  it  is  actually  kept  by 
established  Christians,  according  to  the  last  and  fullest 
edition  of  it,  which  is  that  of  the  New  Testament. 
Nor  do  we  think  it  "  shocking'^  to  hear  an  adult  be- 
liever say,  The  laiv  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death.  For  what  the  law  [of  innocence,  or  the  Mosaic 
law]  coidd  not  do  in  that  it  ivas  weak  through  the 
flesh,  God,  sending  his  own  Son,  condemned  sin  in 
the  flesh,  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  might 
be  [evangelically]  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after 
the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit. 

It  is  this  view  of  the  law  under  which  we  are  placed 
that  St.  James  takes  when  he  says.  So  speak  ye,  and 
so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be  judged  by  the  laio  of 
liberty,  James  ii,  12.  Now,  as  a  reasonable  father 
never  requires  of  his  child  who  is  only  ten  years  old 
the  works  of  one  who  is  thirty  years  of  age,  so  our 


280  BEAUTIES  or  FLETCHER. 

heavenly  Father  never  expects  of  us,  in  our  debilitated 
state,  the  obedience  of  immortal  Adam  in  paradise,  or 
the  uninterrupted  worship  of  sleepless  angels  in  heaven. 
We  are  persuaded,  therefore,  that  for  Christ's  sake  he 
is  pleased  with  an  humble  obedience  to  our  present 
light,  and  a  loving  exertion  of  our  present  powers; 
accepting  our  gospel  services  according  to  what  we 
have,  and  tiot  according  to  what  we  have  not.  Nor 
dare  we  call  that  loving  exertion  of  our  present  power 
sin,  lest  by  so  doing  we  should  contradict  the  Scrip- 
tures, confound  sin  and  obedience,  and  remove  all  the 
landmarks  which  divide  the  devil's  common  from  the 
Lord's  vineyard. 

Although  adult,  established  believers,  or  perfect 
Christians,  may  admit  of  many  involuntary  mistakes, 
errors,  and  faults,  and  of  many  involuntary  improprie- 
ties of  speech  and  behaviour ;  yet,  so  long  as  their  will 
is  bent  on  doing  God's  will — so  long  as  they  walk  not 
after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit — so  long  as  they 
fulfil  the  laiD  of  liberty  by  pure  love,  they  do  not  sin 
according  to  the  gospel :  because  (evangelically  speak- 
ing) sin  is  the  transgression,  and  love  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  laiD.  Far,  then,  from  thinking  that  there  is  the 
least  absurdity  in  saying  daily,  Vouchsafe  to  keep  me 
this  day  without  sin,  we  doubt  not  but  in  the  believers 
who  walk  in  the  light  as  Christ  is  in  the  light,  that 
deep  petition  is  answered  ;  the  righteousness  of  the  law, 
which  they  are  under,  is  fulfilled  ;  and,  of  consequence, 
an  evangelically  sinless  perfection  is  daily  experienced. 
I  say  evangelically  sinless,  because,  without  the  word 
evangelically,  the  phrase  sinless  perfection  gives  occa- 
sion for  cavilling  to  those  who  seek  it,  as  Mr.  Wesley 
intimates  in  the  following  quotation,  which  is  taken 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  281 

from  his  Plain  Account  of  Christian  Perfection: — 
"  1.  Not  only  sin,  properly  so  called,  that  is,  a  volun- 
tary transgression  of  a  known  law,  but  sin,  improperly 
so  called,  that  is,  an  involuntary  transgression  of  a 
divine  law,  known  or  unknown,  needs  the  atoning 
blood.  2.  I  believe  there  is  no  such  perfection  in  this 
life  as  excludes  these  involuntary  tiansgressions,  which 
I  apprehend  to  be  consequent  on  the  ignorance  and 
mistakes  inseparable  from  mortality.  3.  Therefore, 
sinless  perfection  is  a  phrase  I  never  use,  lest  I  should 
seem  to  contradict  myself  4.  I  believe  a  person  filled 
with  the  love  of  God  is  still  Uable  to  these  involuntary 
transgressions.  5.  Such  transgressions  you  may  call 
sins,  if  you  please :  I  do  not." 


SECTION  111. 

SEVERAL    PLAUSIBLE    OBJECTIONS    TO    CHRISTIAN    PERFEC- 
TION   ANSWERED. 

"It  will  supersede  the  use  of  mortification  and 
watchfulness ;  for  if  sin  be  dead,  what  need  have  we 
to  mortify  it  and  watch  against  it  ?" 

This  objection  has  some  plausibility ;  I  shall  there- 
fore answer  it  various  ways.  1.  If  Adam,  in  his  state 
of  paradisiacal  perfection,  needed  perfect  watchfulness 
and  perfect  mortification,  how  much  more  do  we  need 
them,  who  find  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil  planted,  not  only  in  the  midst  of  our  gardens,  but 
in  the  midst  of  our  houses,  markets,  and  churches? 
2.  When  we  are  delivered  from  sin,  are  we  delivered 
from  peccability  and  temptation  ?  When  the  inward 
Inan  of  sin  is  dead,  is  the  devil  dead?     Is  the  cor- 


282  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

mption  that  is  in  the  world  destroyed  ?  And  have  we 
not  still  our  five  senses,  and  our  appetites,  to  keep  with 
all  diligence,  as  well  as  our  hearts,  that  the  tempter 
may  not  enter  into  us,  or  that  we  may  not  enter 
into  his  temptations  ?  Lastly,  Jesus  Christ,  as  son  of 
Mary,  was  a  perfect  man.  But  how  was  he  kept  so 
to  the  end  ?  Was  it  not  by  keeping  his  mouth  with  a 
bridle  while  the  ungodly  were  in  his  sight,  and  by 
guarding  all  his  senses  with  perfect  assiduity,  that  the 
wicked  one  might  not  touch  them  to  his  hurt  ?  And 
if  Christ,  our  head,  kept  his  human  perfection  only 
through  watchfulness  and  constant  self-denial,  is  it  not 
absurd  to  suppose  that  his  perfect  members  can  keep 
their  perfection  without  treading  in  his  steps  ? 

"  Your  doctrine  of  perfection  makes  it  needless  for 
perfect  Christians  to  say  the  Lord's  prayer,  'Forgive  us 
our  trespasses.' " 

We  answer,  1.  Though  a  perfect  Christian  does  not 
trespass  voluntarily,  and  break  the  law  of  love,  yet  he 
daily  breaks  the  law  of  Adamic  perfection,  through  the 
imperfection  of  his  bodily  and  mental  powers :  and  he 
has  frequently  a  deeper  sense  of  these  involuntary  tres- 
passes than  many  weak  behevers  ha,ve  of  their  volun- 
tary breaches  of  the  moral  law.  2.  Although  a  perfect 
Christian  has  a  witness  that  his  sins  are  now  forgiven 
in  the  court  of  his  conscience,  yet  he  knows  the  terrois 
of  the  Lord :  he  hastens  to  meet  the  awful  day  of  God  : 
he  waits  for  the  appearance  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  character  of  a  righteous  Judge:  he  keeps  an  eye 
to  the  awful  tribunal  before  which  he  must  soon  be 
justified  or  condemned  by  his  words :  he  is  conscious 
that  his  final  justification  is  not  yet  come :  and  there- 
fore he  would  think  himself  a  monster  of  stupidity  and 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  283 

pride,  if,  with  an  eye  to  his  absolution  in  the  great  day, 
he  scrupled  sa)ring,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  "  Forgive  us 
our  trespasses."  3.  He  is  surrounded  with  sinners  who 
daily  trespass  against  him,  and  whom  he  is  daily 
bound  to  forgive;  and  his  praying  that  he  may  be  for- 
given now,  and  in  the  great  day,  as  he  forgave  others^ 
reminds  him  that  he  may  forfeit  his  pardon,  and  binds 
him  more  to  the  performance  of  the  important  duty  of 
forgiving  his  enemies.  And,  4.  His  charity  is  so  ardent 
that  it  melts  him,  as  it  were,  into  the  common  mass  of 
mankind.  Bowing  himself,  therefore,  under  the  enor- 
mous load  of  all  the  wilful  trespasses  which  his  fellow- 
mortals,  and  particularly  his  relatives  and  his  brethren, 
daily  commit  against  God,  he  says,  with  a  fervour  that 
imperfect  Christians  seldom  feel,  "  Forgive  us  our  tres- 
passes" &c.  We  are  heartily  sorry  for  our  misdo- 
ings :  [my  own  and  those  of  my  fellow  sinners :]  the 
remembrance  of  them  is  grievous  unto  us :  the  burden 
of  them  is  intolerable.  Nor  do  we  doubt  but  when 
the  spirit  of  mourning  leads  a  numerous  assembly  into 
the  vale  of  humiliation,  the  person  who  puts  the  shoul- 
der of  faith  most  readily  to  the  common  burden  of  sin, 
and  heaves  the  most  powerfully  in  order  to  roll  the 
enormous  load  into  the  Redeemer's  grave,  is  the  most 
perfect  penitent — the  most  exact  observer  of  the  apos- 
tolic precept.  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so 
fulfil  the  law  of  Christ;  and,  of  consequence,  we  do  not 
scruple  to  say,  that  such  a  person  is  the  most  perfect 
Christian  in  the  whole  assembly. 

"Your  account  of  Christian  perfection  represents 
adult  believers  as  free  from  sin :  now  sin  is  that  which 
humbles  us,  and  drives  us  to  Christ,  and  therefore  if  we 


284  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

were  free  from  indwelling  sin,  we  should  lose  a  most 
powerful  incentive  to  humility." 

We  answer :  Sin  never  humbled  any  soul.  Who 
has  more  sin  than  Satan  ?  And  who  is  prouder  ?  Did 
sin  make  our  first  parents  humble?  If  it  did  not,  how 
do  our  brethren  suppose  that  its  nature  is  altered  for  the 
better  1  Who  was  humbler  than  Christ  ?  But  was  he 
indebted  to  sin  for  his  humility?  Do  we  not  see  daily, 
that  the  more  sinful  men  are,  the  prouder  they  are  also  1 
If  sin  be  necessary  to  make  us  humble,  and  to  keep  us 
near  Christy  does  it  not  follow  that  glorified  saints,  whom 
all  acknowledge  to  be  sinless,  are  aU  proud  despisers  of 
Christ  ?  See  we  not  sin  enough,  when  we  look  ten  or 
twenty  years  back,  to  humble  us  to  the  dust  for  ever,  if 
sin  can  do  it  ?  Need  we  plead  for  any  more  of  it  in 
our  hearts  and  lives?  If  the  sins  of  our  youth  do  not 
humble  us,  are  the  sins  of  our  old  age  likely  to  do  it? 
Lastly,  what  is  indwelling  sin  but  indwelling  pride? 
At  least,  is  not  inbred  pride  one  of  the  chief  ingredients 
of  indwelling  sin  ?  And  how  can  pride  be  productive 
of  humility  ?  Can  a  serpent  beget  a  dove  ?  And  will 
not  men  gather  grapes  from  thorns  sooner  than  hu- 
mility of  heart  from  haughtiness  of  spirit? 


SECTION  IV. 

THE    ABSURDITY    OF     SAYING     THAT     ALL     OUR    CHRISTIAN 
PERFECTION    IS    IN    THE    PERSON    OF    CHRIST. 

If  by  being  perfect  only  in  Christ  be  meant  that 
we  can  attain  to  Christian  perfection  no  other  way  than 
by  being  perfectly  grafted  in  him,  the  true  vine,  and  by 
deriving,  like  vigorous  branches,  the  perfect  sap  of  his 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  285 

perfect  righteousness  to  enable  us  to  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  perfection,  we  are  entirely  agreed :  for  we  perpetu- 
ally assert,  that  nothing  but  Christ  dwelling  in  our 
hearts  hy  faith,  or,  which  is  all  one,  nothing  but  the 
law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  can  make  us 
free  from  the  law  of  sin^  and  perfect  us  in  love.  But 
as  we  never  advanced  that  Christian  perfection  is  at- 
tainable any  other  way  than  by  a  faith  that  roots  and 
grounds  us  in  Christ ;  we  doubt  some  mystery  of  ini- 
quity lies  hid  under  the  equivocal  phrases, "  All  our  per- 
fection is  in  Christ's  person— We  are  perfect  in  him, 
and  not  in  ourselves." 

Should  those  who  use  them  insinuate  by  such  lan- 
guage that  we  cannot  be  perfect  by  an  inherent  per- 
sonal conformity  to  God's  hoUness,  because  Christ  is 
thus  perfect  for  us ;  or  should  they  mean  that  we  are 
perfect  in  him  just  as  country  freeholders,  entirely 
strangers  to  state  affairs,  are  perfect  politicians  in  the 
knights  of  the  shire  who  represent  them  in  parliament ; 
as  the  sick  in  a  hospital  are  perfectly  healthy  in  the 
physician  that  gives  them  his  attendance ;  as  the  blind 
man  enjoyed  perfect  sight  in  Christ  when  he  saw 
walking  men  Uke  moving  trees ;  as  the  filthy  leper  was 
perfectly  clean  in  our  Lord  before  he  had  felt  the  power 
of  his  gracious  words,  /  loill,  be  thou  clean;  or  as 
hungry  Lazarus  was  perfectly  fed  in  the  person  of  the 
rich  man  at  whose  gate  he  lay  starving— should  this, 
I  say,  be  their  meaning,  we  are  conscience-bound  to 
oppose  it,  for  the  reasons  contained  in  the  following 
queries : — 

1.  If  believers  are  perfect  beca:use  Christ  is  perfect  for 
them,  why  does  the  apostle  exhort  them  to  go  on  to 
perfection  ? 


286  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

2.  If  all  our  perfection  be  inherent  in  Christ,  is  it  not 
strange  that  St.  Paul  should  exhort  us  to  perfect  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  by  cleansing  ourselves 
of  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit  1  Did  not  Christ 
perfect  his  own  holiness  ?  And  will  his  personal  sanc- 
tity be  imperfect  till  we  have  cleaned  ourselves  from  all 
defilement  1 

3.  If  Christ  be  perfect  for  us,  why  does  St.  James 
say,  Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that  ye  may 
be  perfect?  Is  Christ's  perfection  suspended  on  the 
perfect  work  of  our  patience  ? 

4.  Upon  the  scheme  which  I  oppose,  what  does  St. 
Peter  mean  when  he  says,  After  ye  have  suffered 
a  while,  the  Lord  make  you  perfect  ?  What  has  our 
suffering  a  while  to  do  with  Christ's  perfection  ?  Was 
not  Christ  made  perfect  through  his  own  suffering  1 

5.  If  believers  were  perfect  in  Christ's  person,  they 
would  all  be  equally  perfect.  But  is  this  the  case? 
Does  not  St.  John  talk  of  some  who  were  perfected, 
and  others  who  are  not  yet  made  perfect  in  love? 
Besides,  the  apostle  exhorts  to  be  perfect,  not  in  Anti- 
nomian  notions,  but  in  all  the  will  of  God,  and  in 
every  good  work;  and  common  sense  dictates  that 
there  is  some  difference  between  our  good  works  and 
the  person  of  Christ. 

6.  Does  not  our  Lord  himself  show,  that  his  per- 
sonal righteousness  will  by  no  means  be  accepted  in- 
stead of  our  perfection,  where  he  says,  '^Every  branch  in 
me  that  beareth  not  fruit  [or  whose  fruit  never  grows 
to  any  perfection,  see  Luke  viii,  14]  my  Father  taketh 
it  awa.y^''  far  from  imputing  it  to  his  perfect  fruit- 
fulness  ? 

7.  In  the  nature  of  things,  can  Christ's  perfection 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  287 

supply  the  want  of  that  perfection  which  he  calls  us  to  ? 
Is  there  not  a  more  essential  difference  between  Christ's 
perfection  and  that  of  a  believer,  than  there  is  between 
the  perfection  of  a  rose  and  that  of  the  grass  of  the 
field?  between  the  perfection  of  a  soaring  eagle  and 
that  of  a  creeping  insect  ?  If  our  Lord  is  the  head  of 
the  church,  and  we  the  members,  is  it  not  absurd  to 
suppose  that  his  perfection  becomes  us  in  every  respect  ? 
Were  I  allowed  to  carry  on  a  Scriptural  metaphor,  I 
would  ask,  Is  not  the  perfection  of  the  head  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  hand?  And  do  we  not  take 
advantage  of  the  credulity  of  the  simple  when  we 
make  them  believe  that  an  impenitent  adulterer  and 
murderer  is  perfect  in  Christ ;  or,  if  you  please,  that  a 
crooked  leg  and  cloven  foot  are  perfectly  handsome,  if 
they  do  but  somehow  belong  to  a  beautiful  face  ? 

8.  Let  us  illustrate  this  a  little  more.  Does  not  the 
Redeemer's  personal  perfection  consist  in  being  God 
and  man  in  one  person ;  in  his  being  eternally  begot- 
ten by  the  Father  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  unhegotten 
in  time  by  a  father,  as  the  son  of  man ;  in  having  given 
his  life  a  ransom  for  all ;  in  his  having  taken  it  up 
again ;  and  his  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  throne, 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God 
through  him  ?  Consider  this,  candid  believer,  and  say 
if  any  man  or  angel  can  decently  hope  that  such  an 
incommunicable  perfection  can  ever  fall  to  his  share. 

9.  As  the  Redeemer's  personal  perfection  cannot  suit 
the  redeemed,  no  more  can  the  personal  perfection  of 
the  redeemed  %e  found  in  the  Redeemer.  A  believer's 
perfection  consists  in  such  a  degree  of  faith  as  works 
by  perfect  love.  And  does  not  this  high  degree  of  faith 
chiefly  imply  unintemipted  self-diffidence,  self-denial, 


288  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

self-despair  7  a  heartfelt,  ceaseless  recourse  to  the  blood, 
merits,  and  righteousness  of  Christ?  and  a  grate- 
ful love  to  him,  because  he  Jirst  loved  us,  and  fervent 
charity  to  all  mankind  for  his  sake?  Three  things 
these  which,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  either  cannot 
be  in  the  Saviour  at  all,  or  cannot  possibly  be  in  him  in 
the  same  manner  in  which  they  must  be  in  believers. 

10.  Is  not  the  doctrine  of  our  being  perfect  in  Christ's 
person  big  with  mischief?  Does  it  not  open  a  refuge 
of  lies  to  the  loosest  ranters  in  the  land  ?  Are  there 
none  who  say.  We  are  perfect  in  Christ's  person  ?  In 
him  we  have  perfect  chastity  and  honesty,  perfect 
temperance  and  meekness;  and  we  should  be  guilty 
of  PhaiTsaic  insolence  if  we  patched  his  perfection 
with  filthy  rags  of  our  personal  holiness?  And  has 
not  this  doctrine  a  direct  tendency  to  set  godliness 
aside,  and  to  countenance  gross  Antinomianism  ? 

Lastly.  When  our  Lord  preached  the  doctrine  of  per- 
fection, did  he  not  do  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  demon- 
strate that  our  perfection  must  be  personal?  Did  he 
ever  say.  If  thou  wilt  he  perfect^  only  believe  that  I  am 
perfect  for  thee  ?  On  the  contrary,  did  he  not  declare, 
If  thou  wilt  he  perfect,  sell  what  thou  hast,  [part  with 
all  that  stands  in  thy  way,]  and  follow  me  in  the  way 
of  perfection  ?  and  again.  Do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you,  that  ye  may  he  the  children  of  your  Father  who 
is  in  heaven :  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  who 
is  in  heaven  is  perfect  ?  Who  can  read  these  words 
and  not  see  that  the  perfection  which  Christ  preached 
is  a  perfection  of  holy  dispositions,  productive  of  holy 
actions  in  all  his  followers  ?  and  that,  of  consequence, 
it  is  a  personal  perfection,  as  much  inherent  in  us,  and 
yet  as  much  derived  from  him,  and  dependant  on  him, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  289 

as  the  perfection  of  our  bodily  health  ?  the  chief  differ- 
ence consisting  in  this,  that  the  perfection  of  our  health 
comes  to  us  from  God  in  Christ,  as  the  God  of  nature; 
whereas  our  Christian  perfection  conies  to  us  from  God 
in  Christ,  as  the  God  of  grace. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHRISTIAN  PER- 
FECTION,  TAKEN  FROM  CERTAIN  PASSAGES  OF 
HOLY  SCRIPTURE,  ANSWERED. 

SECTION  I. 

EXPOSITION  OF  1  KINGS  VIII,  46  :  "  IF  THEY  SIN  AGAINST 
THEE,  (for  THERE  IS  NO  MAN  THAT  SINNETH  NOT.) 
AND    THOU    BE    ANGRY    WITH    THEM,"  &C, 

No  unprejudiced  person  who,  in  reading  this  pas- 
sage, takes  the  parenthesis  ("  for  there  is  no  man  that 
sinneth  not")  in  connection  with  the  context,  can,  I 
think,  help  seeing  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Toplady.  who,  if 
I  remember  right,  quotes  this  text  against  us,  mistakes 
Solomon  as  much  as  Mr.  Hill  does  St.  John.  The 
meaning  is  evidently,  there  is  no  man  who  is  not 
liable  to  sin,  and  that  a  man  actually  sins  when  he 
actually  departs  from  God.  Now  peccability,  or  a  lia- 
hleness  to  sin,  is  not  indwelling  sin  ;  for  angels,  Adam, 
and  Eve,  were  all  liable  to  sin,  in  their  sinless  state. 
And  that  there  are  some  men  who  do  not  actually  sin, 
is  indubitable:  1.  From  the  hypothetical  phrase  in  the 
context,  if  any  man  sin,  which  shows  that  their  sinning 
is  not  unavoidable.  2.  From  God's  anger  against 
those  that  sin,  which  is  immediately  mentioned.    Hence 

13 


290  BEAtTIfiS   OP   FLETCHER. 

it  appears  that  so  certain  as  God  is  not  angry  with  all 
his  people,  some  of  them  do  not  sin  in  the  sense  of  the 
wise  man.  And,  3.  From  Solomon's  intimating  that 
these  very  men  who  have  sinned,  or  have  actually  de- 
parted from  God,  may  bethink  themselves^  repent,  and 
turn  to  God  with  all  their  heart,  and  with  all  their 
soul,  that  is,  may  attain  the  dispensation ;  the  two  poles 
not  being  more  opposed  to  each  other  than  sinning  is 
to  repenting,  and  departing  from  God  to  returning  to 
him  with  all  our  heart  and  with  all  our  soul.  Take, 
therefore,  the  whole  passage  together,  and  you  have  a 
demonstration  that  where  sin  hath  abounded,  there 
grace  may  much  more  abound.  And  what  is  it  but  a 
demonstration  that  our  doctrine  is  not  chimerical  ?  For 
if  Jews,  [^Solomon  himself  being  judge,]  instead  of  sin- 
ning and  departing  from  God,  can  repent  and  turn  to 
hi?n  with  all  their  heart,  how  much  more  Christians, 
whose  privileges  are  much  greater! 

If  Mr.  Hill  will  consult  the  original  of  this  passage, 
"There  is  no  man,  &c.,"  he  will  find  that  the  word 
translated  sinneth  is  in  the  future  tense,  which  is  often 
used  for  an  indefinite  tense  in  the  jyotential  mood,  be- 
cause the  Hebrews  have  no  such  mood  or  tense ;  there- 
fore our  translators  would  only  have  done  justice  to  the 
original,  as  well  as  to  the  context,  if  they  had  rendered 
the  whole  clause.  There  is  no  man  that  may  not  sin, 
instead  of,  There  is  no  man  that  sinneth  not. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  291 


SECTION  II. 

EXPOSITION   OF   ECCLES.   VII,  20  :    "  THERE   IS    NOT   A   JUST 
MAN  UPON  EARTH  THAT  DOES  GOOD  AND  SINNETH  NOT." 

1.  We  are  not  sure  that  these  are  to  be  regarded 
as  the  words  of  Solomon ;  for  he  may  intioduce  here 
the  very  same  man  who,  four  verses  before,  says.  Be 
not  righteous  overmuch,  6cc. ;  and  Mr.  Toplady  may 
•mistake  the  meaning  in  one  text,  as  Dr.  Trapp  has 
done  in  the  other.    But,  2.  Supposing  Solomon  speaks, 
may  not  he  in  general  assert  what  St.  Paul  does,  Rom. 
iii,  23,  All  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory 
of  God,  the  just  not  excepted  ?    Is  not  this  the  very 
sense  which  Canne,  Calvinist  as  he  was,  gives  to  the 
wise  man's  words  when  he  refers  the  reader  to  this 
assertion  of  the  apostle  ?  And  did  we  ever  speak  against 
this  true  doctrine  ?    3,  If  you  take  the  original  word  sin 
in  the  lowest  sense  which  it  bears ;  if  it  mean  here  what 
it  does  Judges  xx,  16,  namely,  to  miss  a  mark,  we 
shall  not  differ ;  for  we  maintain  that,  according  to  the 
standard  of  paradisiacal  perfection,  there  is  not  a  just 
man  upon  earth  that  does  good  and  misses  not  the 
mark  of  that  perfection,  that  is,  that  does  not  lessen  the 
good  he  does  by  some  involuntary,  and  therefore  (evan- 
gelically speaking)  sinless  defect.     4.  It  is  bold  to  pre- 
tend to  overthrow  the  glorious  liberty  of  God's  children, 
which  is  asserted  in  a  hundred  plain  passages  of  the 
New  Testament,  by  producing  so  vague  a  text  as 
Eccles.  vii,  20. 


292  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 


SECTION  m. 

THE  TRUE  MEANING  OF  GAL.  V,  17  :  "  THE  FLESH  LU8TETH 
AGAINST    THE    SPIRIT,    AND    THE    SPIRIT    AGAINST    THE 
FLESH,   SO    THAT    YE  CANNOT  DO   THE   THINGS   THAT  YE      ^ 
WOULD.'' 

1.  St.  Paul  wrote  these  words  to  the  carnal^  fallen 
Galatians.  To  them  he  said,  /Sb  that  ye  cannot  do 
the  things  that  ye  would :  and  there  was  good  reason 
why  they  could  not  do  what  they  had  a  weak  desire 
to  do.  They  were  bewitched  by  the  flesh,  and  by  car- 
nal teachers,  who  led  them  from  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
to  the  weakness  of  the  letter;  yea,  to  the  letter  of 
Judaism  too.  But  did  he  not  speak  of  himself  to  the 
Philippians  in  a  very  different  strain?  Did  he  not 
declare,  /  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who 
strengtheneth  7ne7  And  cannot  every  beUever  who 
steadily  walks  in  the  Spirit  say  the  same  thing  ?  Who 
does  not  see  the  flaw  of  this  argument  1  The  disobe- 
die7it,  fallen,  bewitched  believers  of  Galatia,  of  whom 
St.  Paul  stood  in  doubt,  could  not  but  fulfil  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh,  when  they  were  led  by  the  flesh :  neither  hot 
nor  cold,  like  the  Laodiceans,  they  could  neither  be 
perfect  Christians  nor  perfect  worldlings,  because  they 
fully  sided  neither  with  the  Spirit  nor  with  the  flesh ; 
or,  to  use  the  apostle's  words,  they  coidd  not  do  the 
things  that  they  would,  through  the  opposition  which 
the  flesh  made  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against 
the  flesh ;  neither  of  these  principles  being  yet  fully 
victorious  in  their  halting,  distracted  hearts:  therefore 
this  must  be  also  the  miserable  case  of  all  obedient, 


0 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  293 

faithful,  established  believers  through  all  ages,  all  the 
world  over  !  What  has  this  Antinomian  conclusion  to 
do  with  the  Scriptural  premises  ?  When  I  assert  that 
those  who  have  put  out  their  knees  cannot  run  a  race 
swiftly,  do  I  so  much  as  intimate  that  no  man  can  be 
a  swift  racer? 

The  sense  which  is  affixed  to  this  text  by  our  oppo- 
nents is  entirely  overturned  by  the  context.  Read  the 
preceding  verse,  and  you  will  find  a  glorious  though 
conditional  promise  of  the  Uberty  which  we  plead  for : 
This  I  say,  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not 
fulfil  the  [sinful]  lusts  of  the  fiesh ;  that  is,  far  from 
harbouring  either  outward  or  inward  sin,  ye  shall,  with 
myself,  and  as  many  as  are  perfect,  steadily  keep  your 
body  under,  and  be  in  every  thing  spiritually  minded, 
which  is  life  and  peace. 

2.  It  appears  that  the  genuine  meaning  of  Gal.  v,  17, 
when  considered  in  the  light  of  the  context,  is  fairly 
expressed  in  the  following  lines :  "  The  flesh  and  the 
Spirit  are  two  contrary  principles.  They  that  are  m, 
or  walk  after,  the  fiesh,  cannot  please  God.  And  ye 
are  undoubtedly  in  the  flesh,  and  walk  after  the  flesh, 
while  ye  bite  and  devour  one  another.  This  I  say, 
then,  Walk  in  the  Spirit ;  he  led  by  the  Spirit ;  and 
ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  as  ye  now  do. 
For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  prevails 
in  all  carnal  people ;  and  the  Spirit  lusteth  against 
the  flesh  in  all  spiritual  people ;  and  these  two,  far 
from  nestling  together,  as  Antinomian  teachers  make 
you  believe,  are  contrary  to  each  other.  They  are 
irreconcilable  enemies;  so  that,  as  obedient,  spiritual 
believers,  while  they  are  led  by  the  Spirit,  cannot  do 
what  they  would  do  if  they  were  led  by  the  flesh,  ye 


294  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

bewitched,  cainal,  disobedient  Galatians,  who  are  led 
by  the  flesh,  cannot  do  what  ye  would  do  if  ye  were 
led  by  the  Spirit,  and  what  ye  have  still  some  desire  to 
do,  so  far  as  ye  have  not  yet  absolutely  quenched  the 
Spirit.  Would  ye  then  return  to  your  liberty  ?  Return 
to  your  duty ;  change  your  guide ;  forsake  the  carnal 
mind ;  let  Christ  be  formed  in  you ;  be  led  by  the 
Spirit ;  so  shall  ye  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ,  and  it 
shall  no  more  condemn  you.  For  if  ye  be  led  by 
the  Spirit,  ye  are  not  under  the  curse  of  the  law : 
ye  are  equally  free  from  the  bondage  of  the  Mosaic 
law  and  from  the  condemnation  of  the  law  of  Christ," 
Gal.  V,  16,  17,  18. 

3.  If  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken,  the  preceding  re- 
marks prove,  1.  That  when  our  opponents  pretend  to 
demonstrate  the  necessary  indwelling  of  sin  in  all  be- 
lievers from  Gal,  v,  17,  they  wretchedly  tear  that  text 
from  the  context,  to  make  it  speak  a  language  which 
St.  Paul  abhors.  2.  That  the  text,  fairly  taken  toge- 
ther with  the  context,  and  the  design  of  the  whole 
epistle,  is  a  proof  that  obedient,  spiritual  believers  can 
do  what  the  bewitched  Galatians  could  not  do. 


SECTION  IV. 

ST.  PAUL,  WHILE  AN  APOSTLE,  WAS  NOT  CARNAL  AND  SOLD 
UNDER  SIN.      TRUE  MEANING  OF  ROM.  VII,  14. 

1.  St.  Paul  no  more  professes  himself  actually  a 
carnal  man  in  Rom.  vii,  14,  than  he  professes  himself 
actually  a  liar  in  Rom.  iii,  7,  where  he  says,  But  if 
the  truth  of  God  has  more  abounded  through  my  lie, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  295 

why  am  I  yet  judged  as  a  sinner  7  He  no  more  pro- 
fesses himself  a  man  actually  sold  under  sin,  than 
St.  James  and  his  fellow-behevers  profess  themselves  a 
generation  of  vipers,  and  actual  cursers  of  men,  when 
the  one  wrote,  and  the  others  read,  The  tong^ie  can 
no  man  tame :  it  is  full  of  deadly  poison :  therewith 
curse  we  men. 

2.  When  St.  Paul  reproves  the  partiality  of  some  of 
the  Corinthians  to  this  or  that  preacher,  he  introduces 
ApoUos  and  himself;  though  it  seems  that  his  reproof 
was  chiefly  intended  for  other  preachers,  who  fomented 
a  parly  spirit  in  the  corrupted  church  at  Corinth.  And 
then  he  says.  These  things,  brethren,  I  have  in  a 
figure  transferred  to  myself  and  Apollos,  for  your 
sakes ;  that  ye  might  learn  in  us  not  to  think  of 
m,en  above  that  lohich  is  written.  By  the  same  figure 
he  says  of  himself,  what  he  might  have  said  of  any 
other  man,  or  of  all  mankind,  Though  I  speak  loith 
the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass.  Thrice  in 
three  verses  he  speaks  of  his  not  having  charity :  and 
suppose  he  had  done  it  three  hundred  times,  this  would 
no  more  have  proved  that  he  was  really  uncharitable, 
than  his  saying,  Rom.  vii,  14,  /  am  sold  under  sin, 
proves  that  he  served  the  laiv  of  sin  with  his  body,  as 
a  slave  is  forced  to  serve  the  master  who  bought  him. 

3.  It  frequently  happens  also,  that  by  a  figure  of 
rhetoric,  which  is  called  hypotyposis,  writers  relate 
things  past  or  things  to  come  in  the  present  tense,  that 
their  narration  may  be  more  lively,  and  may  make  a 
stronger  impression.  Thus,  Gen.  vi,  17,  we  read.  Be- 
hold, I,  even  I,  do  bring  [that  is,  I  will  bring,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  ^lence]  a  flood  ttpon  the 


296  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

earth.  Thus  also  2  Sam.  xxii,  1,  35,  48,  When  the 
Lord  had  deUveied  David  out  of  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
mies, and  had  given  him  peace  in  all  his  borders,  he 
spake  the  words  of  this  song : — He  teacheth  [i.  e.,  he 
taught]  my  hands  to  war,  so  that  a  bow  of  steel  is 
[i.  e.,  was]  broken  by  mine  arms.  It  is  God  that 
avengeth  [i.  e.,  that  hath  avenged]  me, — and  that 
bringeth  [i.  e.,  hath  brought]  7ne  forth  from  mitie 
enemies.  A  thousand  such  expressions,  or  this  figure 
continued  through  a  thousand  verses,  would  never  prove 
that  King  Saul  was  ahve,  and  that  King  David  was  not 
yet  delivered  for  good  out  of  his  bloody  hands.  Now, 
if  St.  Paul,  by  a  similar  figure,  which  he  carries  through- 
out part  of  a  chapter,  relates  his  past  experience  in  the 
present  tense ;  if  the  Christian  apostle,  to  humble  him- 
self, and  to  make  his  description  more  lively,  and  the 
opposition  between  the  bondage  of  sin  and  Christian 
liberty  more  striking ;  if  the  apostle,  I  say,  with  such  a 
design  as  this,  appears  upon  the  stage  of  instruction  in 
his  old  Jewish  dress, — a  dress  this  in  which  he  could 
serve  God  day  and  night,  and  yet,  like  another  Ahab, 
breathe  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  God's  chil- 
dren ;  and  if  in  this  dress  he  says,  /  am  carnal,  sold 
under  sin,  (fcc. ;  is  it  not  ridiculous  to  measure  his 
growth  as  an  apostle  of  Christ  by  the  standard  of  his 
stature  when  he  was  a  Jewish  bigot,  a  fiery  zealot,  full 
of  good  meanings  and  bad  performances  ? 

4.  The  states  of  all  souls  may,  in  general,  be  reduced 
to  three : — 1.  The  state  of  unawakened  sinners,  who 
quietly  sleep  in  the  chains  of  their  sins,  and  dream  of 
self-righteousness  and  heaven  ;  2.  That  of  awakened, 
uneasy,  reluctant  sinners,  who  try  in  vain  to  break  the 
galling  chains  of  their  sins ;  and  3.  That  of  delivered 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  297 

sinners,  or  victorious  believers,  who  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
God's  children.  This  last  state  is  described  in  Rom. 
vii,  4,  6.  The  rest  of  that  chapter  is  judiciously  brought 
in,  to  show  how  the  unawakened  sinner  is  roused  out 
of  his  carnal  state,  and  how  the  awakened  sinner  is 
driven  to  Christ  for  liberty  by  the  lashing  and  binding 
commandraent.  The  apostle  shows  this  by  observing 
[ver.  7,  &c.]  how  the  law  makes  a  simter  [or,  if  you 
please,  made  him]  p£iss  from  the  unawakened  to  the 
awakened  state.  I  had  not  known  sin,  says  he,  bui 
by  the  laWy  <fcc.  When  he  had  described  his  un- 
awakened state  without  the  law,  and  began  to  describe 
his  awakened  state  under  the  law,  nothing  was  more 
natural  than  to  change  the  time  or  tense.  But  having 
already  used  the  past  tense  in  the  description  of  the 
first,  or  the  unawakened  state ;  and  having  said.  With- 
out the  law  sin  was  dead — I  was  alive  without  the 
law  once — Sin  revived  and  I  died,  &,c.,  he  could  no 
more  use  that  tense  when  he  began  to  describe  the 
second,  or  awakened  state ;  he  was  therefore  obliged  to 
use  another  tense,  and  none  in  that  case  was  fitter  than 
the  present :  just  as  if  he  had  said,  When  I  died  to  my 
self-righteous  hopes,  &c.,  the  language  of  my  heart  was, 
/  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  <fec.  It  is,  therefore,  with 
the  utmost  rhetorical  propriety  that  the  apostle  says, 
I  am,  and  not  I  was,  carnal,  &,c. 


SECTION  V. 

patjl's  thorn  in  the  flesh  explained. 

"There  was  given  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  meg- 
senger  of  Satan  to  buflet  me,  lest  I  should  be  e:xalted 

n* 


298  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

above  measure,  2  Cor.  xii,  7.  Now  what  could  this 
thorn  in  the  flesh  be  but  a  sinful  lust  ?  And  what  the 
messenger  of  Satan,  but  pride  or  immoderate  anger  ?" 

1.  You  entirely  mistake  the  apostle's  meaning.  While 
you  try  to  make  him  a  moderate  imperfectionist,  you 
make  him  an  impudent  Antinomian  ;  for,  speaking  of 
his  thorn  in  the  flesh,  and  of  this  messenger,  he  calls 
them  his  infirmities.  Now  if  his  infirmities  were  pride, 
a  wrathful  disposition,  and  afllthy  lust,  did  he  not  act 
the  part  of  a  filthy  Antinomian  when  he  said  that  he 
gloried  in  them  ?  Would  not  even  Paul's  carnal  man  have 
blushed  to  speak  thus?  Far  from  glorying  in  his  pride, 
wrath,  or  indwelling  lust,  did  he  not  groan,  O  wretched 
man  that  I  am  ? 

2.  The  apostle,  still  speaking  of  his  thorn  in  the 
flesh,  and  of  Satan  buffeting  him  by  proxy,  and  still 
calling  these  trials  his  infirmities,  explains  himself  far- 
ther in  these  words:  Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in 
infirmities,  in  reproaches,  in  persecutions,  <^c.,  for 
Chrisfs  sake :  for  when  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong. 
Those  infirmities,  that  thorn  in  the  flesh,  that  buf- 
feting of  Satan,  cannot  be  indwelling  sin,  or  any  out- 
breaking of  it,  for  the  devil  himself  could  do  no  more  than 
to  take  pleasure  in  his  wickedness;  and  in  Rom.  vii, 
the  carnal  penitent  himself  deUghts  in  the  law  of  God 
after  the  inward  man,  instead  of  taking  pleasure  in  his 
indwelling  sin. 

3.  The  infirmities  in  which  St.  Paul  glories  and 
takes  pleasure  were  such  as  had  been  given  him  to 
keep  him  humble  after  his  revelations.  There  was 
given  to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  &c.,  2  Cor.  xii,  7. 
Those  infirmities  and  that  thorn  were  not  then  in- 
dwelling sin,  for  indweUing  sin  was  not  given  him  after 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  2d9 

his  visions,  seeing  [according  to  Calvinism]  it  stuck  fast 
in  him  long  before  he  went  to  Damascus.  It  is  absurd, 
therefore,  to  suppose  that  God  gave  him  the  thorn  of 
indwelling  sin  afterward,  or  indeed  that  he  gave  it  to 
him  at  all. 

4.  If  Mr.  Hill  wants  to  know  what  we  understand 
by  St.  Paul's  thorn  in  the  fleshy  and  by  the  messenger 
of  Satan  that  buffeted  him,  we  reply,  that  we  under- 
stand his  bodily  infirmities,  the  great  weakness,  and 
the  violent  headache  with  which  Tertullian  and  St. 
Chrysostom  inform  us  the  apostle  was  afflicted.  The 
same  God  who  said  to  Satan  concerning  Job,  Behold 
he  is  in  thine  hand,  to  touch  his  bone  and  his  fleshy 
hut  save  his  life ;  the  same  God  who  permitted  that 
advei-sary  to  hind  the  daughter  of  Ahraham  with  a 
spirit  of  bodily  infirmity  for  eighteen  years ;  the  same 
gracious  God,  I  say,  permitted  Satan  to  afflict  St.  Paul's 
body  with  uncommon  pains ;  and  at  times,  it  seems, 
with  preternatural  weakness,  which  made  his  appear- 
ance and  delivery  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  his  ad- 
versaries. That  this  is  not  a  conjecture,  grounded  upon 
uncertain  tradition,  is  evident  from  the  apostle's  own 
words  two  pages  before.  His  letters,  say  they,  [that 
buffeted  me  in  the  name  of  Satan,]  are  weighty  and 
powerful ;  hut  his  hodily  presence  is  weak,  and  his 
speech  contemptible,  2  Cor.  x,  10.  And  soon  after,  de- 
scribing these  emissaries  of  the  devil,  he  says.  Such 
are  false  apostles,  deceitful  workers,  transforming 
themselves  into  the  apostles  of  Christ :  [to  oppose  me 
and  prejudice  you  against  my  ministry :]  and  no  mar- 
vel ;  for  Satan  himself  [who  sets  them  on]  is  trans- 
formed into  an  angel  of  light,  2  Cor.  xi,  13.  But  if 
the  thorn  in  the  flesh  be  all  one  with  the  buffeting 


900  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

messenger  of  Satan,  St  Paul's  meaning  is  evidently 
this:  "  God,  who  suffered  the  Canaaniies  to  be  scourges 
in  the  sides  of  the  Israelites,  and  thorns  in  their 
eyes,  (Josh,  xxiii,  13,)  has  suffered  Satan  to  bruise 
my  heel,  while  I  bruise  his  head ;  and  that  ad- 
versary afQicts  me  thus,  by  his  thorns  and  pricking 
briers,  that  is,  by  false  apostles,  who  buffet  me  through 
malicious  misrepresentations,  which  render  me  vile  in 
your  sight."  This  sense  is  strongly  countenanced  by 
these  words  of  Ezekiel :  They  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord,  and  there  shall  be  no  more  a  pricking  brier  to 
the  house  of  Israel,  nor  any  grieving  thorn  of  all  that 
are  round  about  them,  that  despised  them. 


SECTION  VI. 

EXPOSITION  OF  1  JOHN  1,8:    "  IF  WE  SAY  WE   HAVE  NO  SIN, 
WE  DECEIVE  OURSELVES,  AND  THE  TRUTH  IS  NOT  IN  US." 

1.  In  this  passage  St  John  designs  to  strike  a  blow 
at  Pharisaic  professors.  There  were  in  his  time,  as 
there  are  in  our  own,  numbers  of  men  who  had  never 
been  properly  convinced  of  sin,  and  who  boasted,  as  St. 
Paul  once  did,  that  touching  the  righteousness  of  the 
law,  they  were  blameless ;  they  served  God ;  they  did 
their  duty ;  they  gave  alms ;  they  never  did  anybody 
any  harm :  they  thanked  God  they  were  not  as  other 
men;  but  especially  that  they  were  not  like  those 
mourners  in  Sion,  who  were,  no  doubt,  very  wicked, 
since  they  made  so  much  ado  about  God's  mercy,  and 
a  powerful  application  of  the  Redeemer's  cleansing 
blood.  How  proper  then  was  it  for  St.  John  to  inform 
his  readers  that  these  whole-hearted  Christians,  these 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  301 

perfect  Pharisees,  were  no  better  than  liars  and  self 
deceivers;  and  that  true  Christian  righteousness  is 
always  attended  by  a  genuine  conviction  of  our  native 
depravity,  and  an  humble  acknowledgment  of  out  actual 
transgressions. 

These  things  being  premised,  it  appears  that  the  text 
so  dear  to  us,  as  mistaken  by  our  opponents,  has  this 
fair  and  Scriptural  meaning :  ^'•If  we  [followers  of  Him 
who  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  re- 
pentance] say  we  have  no  sin,  [no  native  depravity  from 
our  first  parents,  and  no  actual  sin,  at  least  no  such 
sin  as  deserves  God's  wrath ;  fancying  we  need  not 
secure  a  particular  application  of  Christ's  atoning  and 
purifying  blood,]  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth 
[of  repentance  and  faith]  is  not  in  us. 

That  these  words  are  levelled  at  the  monstrous  error 
of  self-conceited  and  self-perfected  Pharisees,  and  not  at 
the  glorious  liberty/  of  the  children  of  God,  appears 
to  us  indubitable  from  the  following  reasons: — 1.  The 
immediately  preceding  verse  strongly  asserts  this  liberty. 
2.  The  verse  immediately  following  secures  it  also,  and 
cuts  down  the  doctrine  of  our  opponents ;  the  apostle's 
meaning  being  evidently  this :  "  Though  I  write  to  you 
that  if  we  say  we  are  originally  free  from  sin,  and 
never  did  any  harm,  we  deceive  ourselves ;  yet  mis- 
take me  not;  I  do  not  mean  that  we  need  con- 
tinue under  the  guilt,  or  in  the  moral  infection  of 
any  sin,  original  or  actual:  for  if  we  penitently  and 
believingly  confess  both,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  for- 
give us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright- 
eousness, whether  it  be  native  or  self-contracted,  inter- 
nal or  external.  Therefore  if  we  have  attained  the 
glorious  liberty  of  God's  children,  we  need  not,  through 


303  BEAUTIES   OF    FlrETCHER. 

voluntary  humility,  say  that  we  do  nothing  but  sin.  It 
will  be  sufficient,  when  we  are  cleansed  from  all 
unrighteousness,  still  to  be  deeply  humbled  for  our 
present  infirmities  and  for  our  past  sins,  confessing 
both  with  godly  sorrow  and  filial  shame.  For  if  we 
should  say.  We  have  not  sinned^  [note,  St.  John  does 
not  write.  If  we  should  say,  We  do  not  sm,]  we  make 
him,  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us;  common 
sense  dictating,  that  if  we  have  not  sinned  we  speak 
an  untruth  when  we  profess  that  Christ  has  forgiven 
our  sins.  This  appears  to  us  the  true  meaning  of 
John  i,  8,  when  it  is  fairly  considered  in  the  light  of  the 
context. 

If  these  remarks  be  just,  does  it  not  appear  that  it  is 
as  absurd  to  stab  Christian  perfection  through  the  sides 
of  Job,  Isaiah,  and  /Solomon,  as  to  set  Peter,  Paul, 
James,  and  John  upon  "cutting  it  up,  root  and 
branch  ?" 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CONTAINING  A  VARIETY  OF  ARGUMENTS  TO  PROVE 
THE  MISCHIEVOUSNESS  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
CHRISTIAN  IMPERFECTION. 

The  following  arguments  are  intended  to  prove  the 
MISCHIEVOUSNESS  of  Mr.  Hill's  doctrine  of  Christian 
imperfection. 

I.  It  strikes  at  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith. 
"  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,"  not  only  from 
the  guilt  and  outward  acts  of  sin,  but  also  from  its  root 
and  secret  buds.     "  Not  of*  works,"  says  the  apostle, 

*  Here,  and  in  some  other  places,  St.  Paul  by  "  works"  means 
only  the  deeds  of  a  Christless,  antimediatorial  law,  and  the  obcdi. 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  303 

"lest  any  man- should  [Pharisaically]  bosist;"  and  may 
we  not  add,  Not  of  death,  lest  he  that  had  the  power 
of  death,  that  is,  the  devil,  should  [absurdly]  boast  7 
Does  not  what  strikes  at  the  doctrine  of  faith,  and 
abridges  the  salvation  which  we  obtain  by  it,  equally 
strike  at  Christ's  power  and  glory  ?  Is  it  not  the  busi- 
ness of  faith  to  receive  Christ's  saving  word,  to  appre- 
hend the  power  of  his  sanctifying  Spirit,  and  to  inherit 
all  the  great  promises  by  which  he  saves  his  penitent, 
believing  people  from  their  sins  ?  Is  it  not  evident  that 
if  no  behevers  can  be  saved  from  indwelling  sin  through 
faith,  we  must  correct  the  apostle's  doctrine,  and  say, 
"  By  grace  are  ye  saved  from  the  remains  of  sin, 
through  death?"  And  can  unprejudiced  Protestants 
admit  so  Christ-debasing,  death-exalting  a  tenet,  with- 
out giving  a  dangerous  blow  to  the  genuine  doctrines 
of  the  Reformation  ? 

II.  It  dishonours  Christ  as  a  Prophet:  for,  as  such, 
he  came  to  teach  us  to  be  now  "  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart:"  but  the  imperfect  gospel  of  the  day  teaches 
that  we  must  necessarily  continue  passionate  and  proud 
in  heart  tiU  death ;  for  pride  and  immoderate  anger  are, 
I  apprehend,  two  main  branches  of  indwelling  sin. 
Again :    my    motto   demonstrates    that    he  publicly 

ence  paid  to  the  Jewish  covenant,  which  is  frequently  called  "  the 
law,"  in  opposition  to  the  Christian  covenant,  which  is  commonly 
called  «« the  gospel,"  that  is,  the  gospel  of  Christ,  because  Christ's 
gospel  is  the  most  excellent  of  all  the  gospel  dispensations.  The 
apostle,  therefore,  by  the  expression,  "not  of  works,"  does  by  no 
means  exclude  from  ••final"  salvation,  the  law  of  faith,  and  the 
works  done  in  obedience  to  that  law :  for,  in  the  preceding  verse,  he 
secures  the  obedience  of  faith  when  he  says,  •'  Ye  are  saved  [that 
is,  made  partakers  of  the  blessing  of  the  Christian  dispensation]  by 
grace  through  faith."  Here  then  the  word  •'  by  grace"  secures  the 
first  gospel  axiom,  and  the  word  •'  through  faith"  secures  the  second. 


304  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

taught  the  multitudes  the  doctriae  of  perfection,  and 
Mr.  Hill  insinuates  that  this  doctrine  is  "  shocking,"  not 
to  say  "  blasphemous." 

III.  It  disgraces  Christ  as  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion :  for  St.  Paul  says,  that  our  Captain  furnishes  us 
with  "weapons  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling 
down  of  Satan's  strong  holds,  and  to  the  bringing  of 
every  thought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ." 
But  our  opponents  represent  the  devil's  strong  hold  as 
absolutely  impregnable.  No  weapons  of  our  warfare 
can  pull  down  Apollyon's  throne.  Inbred  sin  shall 
maintain  its  place  in  man's  heart  till  death  strike  the 
victorious  blow.  Christ  may  indeed  fight  against  the 
Jericho  within,  as  "  Joab  fought  against  Rabbah  of  the 
children  of  Ammon :"  but  then  he  must  send  for  death, 
as  Joab  sent  for  David,  saying,  "  I  have  fought  against 
Rabbah,  and  have  taken  the  city  of  waters :  now, 
therefore,  gather  the  rest  of  the  pedple  together,  encamp 
against  the  city,  and  take  it,  lest  I  take  the  city,  and  it 
be  called  after  my  name,"  2  Sam.  xii,  27,  28. 

IV.  It  pours  contempt  upon  him  as  the  Surety  of  the 
new  covenant,  in  which  God  has  engaged  himself  to 
deUver  obedient  believers  "from  their  enemies,  that  they 
may  serve  him  without  [tormenting]  fear,  all  the  days 
of  their  lives."  For  how  does  he  execute  his  office  in  this 
respect,  if  he  never  sees  that  such  believers  be  delivered 
from  their  most  oppressive  and  inveterate  enemy,  indwell- 
ing sin?  Or  if  that  deliverance  take  place  only  at  death, 
how  can  they,  in  consequence  of  their  death  freedom, 
"serve  God  without  fear  all  the  days  of  their  lives? 

V.  It  affi-onts  Christ  as  a  King,  when  it  represents 
the  believer's  heart,  which  is  Christ's  spiritual  throne,  as 
being  necessarily  full  of  indwelling  sin — a  spiritual  rebel, 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  305 

who,  notwithstanding  the  joint  efforts  of  Christ  and  the 
believer,  maintains  his  power  against  them  both  during 
the  term  of  Ufe.  Again  :  does  not  a  good  king  deliver 
his  loyal  subjects  from  oppression,  and  avenge  them  of 
a  tyrannical  adversary',  when  they  cry  to  him  in  their 
distress  7  But  does  our  Lord  show  himself  such  a  king, 
if  he  never  avenge  them,  nor  turn  the  usurper,  the  mur- 
derer, sin,  out  of  their  breasts  ?  Once  more :  if  our  de- 
liverance from  sin  depend  upon  the  stroke  of  death,  and 
not  upon  a  stroke  of  Christ's  grace,  might  we  not  call 
upon  the  king  of  terrors,  as  well  as  upon  the  King  of 
saintSj  for  deliverance  from  the  remains  of  sin  ?  But 
where  is  the  difference  between  saying,  "  O  death,  help 
us !"  and  crying,  "  O  Baal,  save  us?" 

VI.  It  injures  Christ  as  a  Restorer  of  pure,  spiritual 
worship  in  God's  spiritual  temple,  the  heart  of  "man. 
For  it  indirectly  represents  him  as  a  Pharisaic  Saviour, 
who  made  much  ado  about  driving,  with  a  whip,  harm- 
less sheep  and  oxen  out  of  his  Father's  material  temple; 
but  who  gives  full  leave  to  Satan,  not  only  to  bring 
sheep  and  doves  into  the  believer's  heart,  but  also  to 
harbour  and  breed  there  during  the  term  of  Ufe  the 
swelling  toad,  pride;  and  the  hissing  viper,  envy;  to 
say  nothing  of  the  gieedy  dog,  avarice,  and  the  filthy 
swine,  impurity;  under  pretence  of  "exercising  the 
patience,  and  engaging  the  industry"  of  the  worshippers, 
if  we  may  Ijelieve  the  Calvin  of  the  day.  (See  the 
argument  against  Christian  perfection  at  the  end  of 
this  section.) 

VII.  It  insults  Christ  as  a  Priest;  for  our  Melchise- 
dec  shed  his  all-cleansing  blood  upon  the  cross,  and 
now  pours  his  all-availing  prayer  before  the  throne; 
asking  that,  upon  evangelical  terms,  we  may  now  be 


306  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

"cleansed  from  all  unrighteousness,  and  perfected  in 
one."  But  if  we  assert  that  believers,  let  them  be  ever 
BO  faithful,  can  never  be  thus  cleansed  and  perfected  in 
one  till  death  comes  to  the  Saviour's  assistance,  do  we 
not  place  our  Lord's  cleansing  blood,  and  powerful  in- 
tercession, and  of  consequence  his  priesthood,  in  an 
unscriptural  and  contemptible  light  ?  . 

Should  Mr.  Hill  attempt  to  retort  this  argument  by- 
saying,  "  that  it  is  our  doctrine,  not  his,  which  dero- 
gates from  the  honour  of  Christ's  priesthood,  because 
we  should  no  longer  need  our  High  Priest's  blood  if  we 
were  cleansed  from  all  sin ;"  I  reply : — 

(1.)  Perfect  Christians  need  as  much  the  virtue  of 
Christ's  blood,  to  prevent  the  guilt  and  pollution  of  sin 
from  returning,  as  imperfect  Christians  want  it  to  drive 
that  guilt  and  pollution  away.  It  is  not  enough  that 
the  blood  of  the  true  paschal  Lamb  has  been  sprinkled 
upon  our  souls  to  keep  off  the  destroyer ;  it  must  still 
remain  there  to  hinder  his  coming  back  "  with  seven 
other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself"  (2.)  Mr.  Hill 
is  in  the  dark;  he  calls  for  a  light;  and  when  it  is 
brought,  he  observes,  The  darkness  of  the  room  is  now 
totally  removed.  "  Is  it  so,  sir  ?"  replies  his  footman  ; 
"  then  you  need  these  candles  no  more ;  if  they  have 
totally  removed  the  darkness  of  your  apartmeiit,  you 
have  no  more  need  of  them."  Mr.  Hill  smiles  at  the 
absurdity  of  his  servant's  argument ;  and  yet  it  is  well 
if  he  does  not  admire  the  wisdom  of  ray  opponent's 
objection.  (3.)  The  hearts  of  perfect  Christians  are 
cleansed,  and  kept  clean,  by  faith ;  and  Christian  per- 
fection means  the  perfection  of  Christian  faith,  whose 
property  it  is  to  endear  Chiist  and  his  blood  more  and 
more ;  nothing  then  can  be  le^  reasonable  than  to  say" 


BEAUTIES   OF  FLETCJIER.  307 

that,  upon  our  principles,  perfect  believers  have  done 
with  the  atoning  blood.  (4.)  Such  beUevers  continually 
overcome  the  accuser  of  the  brethren  through  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb ;  there  is  no  moment,  therefore,  in 
which  they  can  spare  it :  they  are  feeble  believers  who 
can  yet  dispense  with  its  constant  application;  and 
hence  it  is  that  they  continue  feeble.  None  make  so 
much  use  of  Christ's  blood  as  perfect  Chiistians.  Once 
it  was  only  their  medicine,  which  they  took  now  and 
then,  when  a  fit  of  fear,  or  a  pang  of  guilt,  obliged  them 
to  it ;  but  now  it  is  the  divine  preservative,  which  keeps 
off  the  infection  of  sin.  Now  it  is  the  reviving  cordial, 
which  they  take  to  prevent  their  "  gi-owing  weary,  or 
faint  in  their  minds."  Now  it  is  their  daily  drink ;  now 
it  is  what  they  sprinkle  their  every  thought,  word,  and 
work  with.  In  a  word,  it  is  that  blood  which  constantly 
speaks  before  God  and  in  their  consciences  "  better  things 
than  the  blood  of  Abel,"  and  actually  piocures  for  them 
all  the  blessings  which  they  enjoy  or  expect.  To  say, 
therefore,  that  the  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  super- 
sedes the  need  of  Christ's  blood,  is  not  less  absurd  than 
to  assert  that  the  perfection  of  navigation  renders  the 
great  deep  a  useless  reservoir  of  water.  Lastly :  Are 
not  the  saints  before  the  throne  perfectly  sinless  ?  And 
who  are  more  ready  than  they  to  extol  the  blood  and 
sing  the  song  of  the  Lamb :  "  To  him  that  loved  us, 
and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  blood,  be  glory,'^ 
&c.  ?  If  an  angel  preached  to  them  the  modern  gospel, 
and  desired  them  to  plead  for  the  remains  of  sin,  lest 
they  should  lose  their  peculiar  value  for  the  atoning 
blood  ;  would  not  they  all  suspect  him  to  be  an  angel 
of  darkness,  transforming  himself  into  an  angel  of 
light  ?    And  shall  we  be  the  dupes  of  the  tempter,  who 


308  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

deceives  good  men,  that  they  may  deceive  us  by  a  simi- 
lar argument  7 

VIII.  It  discredits  Christ  as  the  Fuljiller  of  the  Fa- 
ther's promise,  and  as  the  Sender  of  the  indwelling, 
abiding  Comforter,  in  order  that  our  joy  may  be  full. 
For  the  Spirit  never  takes  his  constant  abode  as  a 
Comforter  in  a  heart  full  of  indwelling  sin.  If  he  visit 
such  a  heart  with  his  consolations,  it  is  only  "  as  a 
guest  that  tarrieth  but  a  day."  When  he  enters  a  soul 
fraught  with  inbred  corruption,  he  rather  acts  as  a  Re- 
prover than  as  a  Comforter ;  throwing  down  the  tables 
of  the  spiritual  money  changers ;  hindering  the  vessels, 
which  are  not  hoUness  unto  the  Lord,  from  being  carried 
through  God's  spiritual  temple,  and  expelling,  according 
to  the  degree  of  our  faith,  vi^hatsoever  would  make  God's 
house  "  a  den  of  thieves." 

But,  instead  of  this,  Mr.  Hill's  doctrine  considers  the 
heart  of  a  believer  as  a  "  den  of  lions ;"  and  represents 
Christ's  Spirit,  not  as  the  destroyer,  but  as  the  keeper  of 
the  wild  beasts,  and  evil  tempers  which  dwell  therein. 
This  I  conclude  from  these  words  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Top- 
lady: — "They,"  indwelling  sin  and  unholy  tempers, 
"  do  not  quite  expire  till  the  renewed  soul  is  taken  up 
from  earth  to  heaven.  In  tbe  mean  time  these  heated 
remains  erf  depravity  will,  too  often,  like  prisoners  in  a 
dungeon,  crawl  toward  the  window,  though  in  chains, 
and  show  themselves  through  the  grate.  Nay,  I  do  not 
know  whether  the  strivings  of  inherent  corruption  for- 
mastery  be  not,  frequently,  more  violent  in  a  regenerate 
person  than  even  in  one  who  is  dead  in  trespasses ;  as 
wild  beasts  are  sometimes  the  more  rampant  and  furious 
for  being  wounded." — (See  Caveat  against  Unsound 
Doctrines,  p.  65.)    When  I  read  this  gospel,  I  cannot 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  309 

but  throw  in  a  Caveat  against  Mr.  Toplady's  Caveat. 
For  if  his  be  not  unsound,  every  body  must  allow  it  to 
be  uncomfortable  and  unsafe.  Who  would  not  think  it 
dreadfully  dangerous  to  dwell  with  one  wild  beast  that 
cannot  be  kiUed,  unless  we  are  first  killed  ourselves? 
But  how  much  more  dangerous  is  it  to  be  condemned 
to  dwell  for  Ufe  with  a  number  of  them  which  are  nc^ 
only  immortal,  so  long  as  we  are  alive,  but  "  are  some- 
times the  more  rampant  and  furious  for  being  wounded  !" 
The  Saviour  preached  by  Mr.  Toplady  only  wounds 
the  Egyptian  dragon,  the  inward  Pharaoh,  and  makes 
him  rage ;  but  our  Jesus  drowns  him  in  the  sea  of  his 
own  blood,  barely  by  stretching  out  the  rod  of  his  power, 
when  we  stretch  out  to  him  our  arms  of  faith.  Mr. 
Hill's  Redeemer  only  takes  Agag  prisoner,  as  double- 
minded  Saul  did ;  but  our  Redeemer  "  hews  him  in 
pieces,"  as  upright  Samuel.  The  Christ  of  the  Calvin- 
ists  says,  "  Confine  the  enemy ;  though  he  may  possibly 
be  fiercer  than  before ;"  but  ours  "  thrusts  out  the  enemy 
before  us,  and  says.  Destroy,"  Deut.  xxxiii,  27.  O,  ye 
preachers  of  finished  salvation,  we  leave  it  to  your 
-candour  to  decide  which  of  these  doctrines  brings  most 
glory  to  the  saving  name  of  Jesus. 

IX.  The  doctrine  of  our  necessary  continuance  in 
indwelling  sin  to  our  last  moments  makes  us  naturally 
overlook  or  despise  the  "  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises  given  unto  us,  that  by  these  we  might  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature,"  that  is,  of  God's  perfect 
holiness ;  "  having  escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in  the 
world  through  lust,"  2  Pet.  i,  4 ;  and  thus  it  naturally 
defeats  the  full  effect  of  evangeUcal  truths  and  minis- 
terial labours ;  an  effect  this,  which  is  thus  described  by 
St.  Paul :  "  teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  we 


31©  tis?&fts€  Of  WWWWWl. 

may  present  every  man  perfect  in  ChrisC  Jesus,'*  (hat  is, 
perfect  according  to  the  richest  dispensation  of  divine 
grace,  whkh  k,  ^  the  gospel  of  Chriat  Jesus,'^  Col.  i,  28. 
Again :  "  The  Scripture  i&  profitable  for  instruction  m 
righteousness,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
Aoroughly  fumisbed  to  all  good  works,"  2  Tim.  iii,  16. 
Now  we  apprehend  that  the  perfection  whkh  thoroughly 
furnishes  believers  unto  all  good  works,  is  a  perfection 
prodoctive  <rf  all  the  «  good  works"  evangelically  as  weH 
as  providentially  "prepared  that  we  ^oold  walk  in 
Aem"  before  death:  because,  (whatever  Mr.  Hill  may 
insinnate  to  the  contrary  in  England,  and  father  Walsh 
at  Paris,)  the  Scriptures  say,  «  Whatsoever  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  m^t;  for  there  is  no 
work  nor  device"  in  death,  that  is,  « in  the  grave  whither 
thou  goest."    For  as  the  tree  feBs,  so  it  lies :  if  it  falls 
full  of  rottenness  with  a  brood  of  vipers,  and  a  never- 
dying  worm  in  its  hdlow  centre,  it  will  continue  in  that 
very  condition  ;  and  wo  to  the  man  who  trusts  that  the 
pangs  of  death  will  kill  the  worm,  or  that  a  pui^tivc 
fire  will  spare  the  rotten  wood  and  consume  the  vipers ! 
X.  It  defeats  in  part  the  end  of  the  gospel  precepts, 
to  the  fulfilling  of  which  gospel  promfees  are  but  means. 
"All  the  law,  the  prophets,"  and  the  apostolic  writings, 
"hang  on  these  two  commandments: — Th<m  shalt 
Urm  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,"  through  penitential  feith  in  the 
l^ht  of  thy  dispensation ;  that  is,  in  two  words,  thou 
shak  be  evangelically  •perfect.     Now,  if  we  believe 
that  k  is  absolutely  impossible  to  be  thus  perfect  by 
keeping  these  two  blessed  commandments  in  feith,  we 
cannot  but  believe  also  that  God,  who  requires  us  to 
ke^  them,  is  defective  in  wisdom^  equity ^  and  good- 


BEAUTIES   OP  rLETCHBB,  31 J 

ness,  by  requiring  us  to  do  what  is  absolutely  irapog- 
sible ;  and  we  represent  our  Church  as  a  wicked  step- 
mother who  betrays  her  children  into  the  wanton  com- 
mission of  perjury,  by  requiring  of  every  one  of  them, 
in  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  a  most  solemn  vow.  by 
which  they  bind  themselves,  in  the  presence  of , God 
and  of  the  congregation,  that  "  they  will  keep  Ood!s 
holy  will  and  conmaandments,"  that  is,  that  they  will 
keep  God's  evangehcal  law,  "  and  walk  in  ^le  same 
all  the  days  of  their  life." 

XL  It  has  a  necessary  tendency  to  unnore  cm- 
deepest  prayers.  How  can  we  pray  in  feith  that  God 
would  help  us  to  "  do  his  will  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in 
heaven,"  ot  that  he  would  "  cleanse  the  thoughts  of  our 
hearts,  that  we  may  perfectly  love  him  and  worthily 
magnify  his  holy  name :"  how  can  we,  I  say,  ask  this 
in  faith,  if  we  disbelieve  the  very  po^bility  of  having 
these  petitions  answered  ?  And  what  poor  encourage- 
ment has  Epaphras,  upon  the  scheme  which  we  oppose, 
"  always  to  labour  fervently  for  the  Colossians  in  prayer, 
that  they  might  stand  perfect  and  complete  in  the  will 
of  God ;"  or  St.  Paul  to  wish  that  « the  very  God  of 
peace  would  sanctify  the  Thessalonians  wholly,  and 
that  their  whole  spirit,  and  souL  and  body,  might  be 
preserved  blameless,"  if  these  requests  could  not  be 
granted  before  death,  and  were  unavoidably  to  be  grant- 
ed to  them  and  to  all  beUevers  in  the  article  thereof? 

Xn.  It  soothes  lukewarm,  unholy  professors,  and 
encourages  them  to  sit  quietly  under  the  vine  of  Spdom, 
and  under  their  own  barren  fig-tree :  I  mean  under  the 
baneful  influence  of  their  unbehef  and  indwelling  sin ; 
nothing  being  more  pleasing  to  the  carnal  mind  than 
this  syren  song:—"  It  is  absolutely  impossible  that  the 


312  BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER. 

thoughts  of  your  hearts  should  be  cleansed  in  this  life. 
God  himself  does  not  expect  that  you  should  be  purified 
fi-om  all  iniquity  on  this  side  the  grave.  It  is  proper 
that  sin  should  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  unbelief,  to 
endear  Christ  to  you,  and  so  to  work  together  for  your 
goodJ^  The  preachers  of  mere  morality  insinuate  that 
God  does  not  forgive  sins  before  death.  This  danger- 
ous, uncomfortable  doctrine,  damps  the  faith  of  penitents, 
who  think  it  absurd  to  expect  before  death  what  they 
are  taught  they  can  only  receive  at  death.  And  as  it 
is  with  the  pardon  of  sins,  so  it  is  also  with  "  cleansing 
from  all  unrighteousness."  The  preachers  of  Christian 
imperfection  tell  their  hearers  that  nobody  can  be 
cleansed  from  heart  sin  before  death.  This  new  doc- 
trine makes  them  secretly  trust  in  a  death  purgatory, 
and  hinders  them  from  pleading  in  faith  the  promises 
of  full  sanctification  before  death  stares  them  in  the 
face ;  whUe  others,  Uke  spared  Agag,  madly  venture 
upon  the  spear  of  the  king  of  terrors  with  their  hearts 
full  of  indwelling  sin.  The  dead  teU  no  tales  now ; 
but  it  will  be  well  if,  in  the  day  of  resurrection,  those 
who  plead  for  the  necessary  indwelling  of  sin  during 
the  term  of  life  do  not  meet  in  the  great  day  with  some 
deluded  souls,  who  will  give  them  no  thanks  for  betray- 
ing them,  to  their  last  moments,  into  tlie  hands  of  in- 
dweUing  sin,  by  insinuating  that  there  can  be  no  deli- 
verance from  our  evil  tempers  before  we  are  ready  to 
exchange  a  death-bed  for  a  coffin. 

XIU.  It  greatly  discourages  willing  Israelites,  and 
weakens  the  hands  of  the  faithful  spies  who  want  to 
lead  feeble  believers  on,  and  to  take  by  force  the  king- 
dom which  consists  in  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  nothing  being  more  proper  to  damp 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  313 

their  ardour  than  such  a  speech  as  this :— "  You  may- 
strive  against  your  corruptions  and  evil  tempers  as  long 
as  you  please :  but  you  shall  never  get  rid  of  them ; 
the  Jericho  within  is  impregnable :  it  is  fenced  up  to 
heaven,  and  garrisoned  by  the  tall,  invincible,  immortal 
sons  of  Anak :  so  strong  are  these  adversaries,  that  the 
twelve  apostles,  with  the  help  of  Christ  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  could  never  turn  one  of  them  out  of  his  post. 
Nay,  they  so  buffeted  and  overpowered  St.  Paul,  the 
most  zealous  of  the  apostles,  that  they  fairly  took  him 
prisoner,  '  sold  him  under  sin,'  and  made  him  groan  to 
the  last,  '  O  wretched,  carnal  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  law  of  my  inbred  corruptions, 
which  brings  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  ?  I 
thank  God  through  death.     So  then  with  the  flesh,' 
you  must,  as  well  as  St.  Paul,  '  serve  the  law  of  sin'  till 
you  die.     Nor  need  you  fret  at  these  tidings ;  for  they 
are  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ,  the  genuine  doctrines  of 
free  grace  and  Christian  liberty.    In  Christ  you  are  free, 
but  in  yourselves  you  must  continue  to  serve  the  law 
of  sin :  and  indeed  why  should  you  not  do  it,  since  the 
sins  of  a  Christian  are  for  his  good;  and  even  the 
dung  of  a  sheep  of  Christ  is  of  some  use,  nay,  of  the 
most  excellent  use,  if  we  believe  Mr.  Hill;  for  the  most 
grievous  falls— falls  into  repeated  acts  of  adultery  and 
deliberate  murder— serve  to  make  us  know  our  place, 
to  drive  us  nearer  to  Christ,  and  to  make  us  sing  louder 
the  praises  of  restoring  grace."  Besides,  that  gentleman 
represents  those  who  preach  deUverauce  from  indwelling 
sin  before  we  go  into  a  death  purgatory  as  «  men  of  a 
Pharisaic  cast ;  blind  men,  who  never  saw  their  own 
hearts;  proud  men,  who  oppose  the  righteousness  of 
God ;  vain  men,  who  aspire  at  robbing  Christ  of  the 

14 


314  BEAUTIBS  OF  FLETCHER. 

glory  of  being  alone  without  sin :  in  short,  meii  who 
hold  doctrines  which  are  shocking,  not  to  say  blas- 
phemous." 

How  would  this  speech  damp  our  desires  after  salva- 
tion from  indwelling  sin !  How  would  it  make  us  hug 
the  cursed  chains  of  our  inbred  corruptions,  if  the  cloven 
foot  of  the  imperfect,  unchaste  Diana,  which  it  holds  out 
to  public  view  without  gospel  sandals,  were  not  sufficient 
to  shock  us  back  from  this  impure  gospel  to  the  pure 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ !  And  yet  (if  I  am  not  mistaken) 
ih\s  dangerous  speech  only  unfolds  the  scope  of  Mr. 
Hill's  "  Creed  for  Perfectionists." 

XrV.  To  conclude.    The  modish  doctrine  of  Chris- 
tian imperfection  and  death  purgatory  is  so  contrived, 
that  carnal  men  will  always  prefer  the  purgatory  of  the 
Calvinists  to  that  of  the  Papists.     For  the  Papists  pre- 
scribe I  know  not  how  many  cups  of  divine  wrath  and 
dire  vengeance,  which  are  to  be  drunk  by  the  souls 
of  the  believers  who  die  half  purged,  or  three-parts 
cleansed.     These  Aa//-damned,  or  a  ^warder-damned 
creatures,  must  go  through  a  severe  discipline,  and  fiery 
salvation,  in  the  very  suburbs  of  hell,  before  they  can  be 
perfectly  purified.    But  our  opponents  have  found  out  a 
way  to  deUver  half-hearted  believers  out  of  all  fear  in 
this  respect.     Such  believers  need  not  "  utterly  abolish 
the  body  of  sin"  in  this  world.     The  inbred  man  of  sin 
not  only  may,  but  he  shall,  live  as  long  as  we  do.    You 
will  possibly  ask,  "  What  is  to  become  of  this  sinful 
guest?    Shall  he  take  us  to  hell,  or  shall  we  take  him 
to  heaven?    If  he  cannot  die  in  this  world,  will  Christ 
destroy  him  in  the  next?"    No:  here  Christ  is  almost 
left  out  of  the  question,  by  those  who  pretend  to  be  de- 
termined to  "  know  nothing  but  Christ  and  him  cruci- 


BEAUTIES  OF  FLETCHER.  315 

fied."  Our  indwelliog  adversary  is  not  destroyed  by 
the  brightness  of  the  Redeemer's  spiritual  appearing, 
but  by  the  gloom  of  the  appearance  of  death.  Thus 
they  have  found  another  Jesus ;  another  Saviour  from 
sin.  The  king  of  terrors  comes  to  the  assistance  of 
Jesus'  sanctifying  grace,  and  instantaneously  delivers 
the  carnal  believer  from  indwelling  pride,  unbelief,  co- 
vetousness,  peevishness,  uncharitableness,  love  of  the 
world,  and  inordinate  affection.  Thus  the  clammy 
sweats,  brought  on  by  the  greedy  monster,  kill,  it  seems, 
the  tree  of  sin,  of  wliich  the  blood  of  Christ  could  only 
kill  the  buds  !  The  dying  sinner's  breath  does  the  capi- 
tal work  of  the  Spirit  of  hohness !  And  by  the  most 
astonishing  of  all  miracles,  the  faint,  infectious,  last  gasp 
of  a  sinful  beUever  blows  away,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  the  great  mountain  of  inward  corruption,  which  all 
the  means  of  grace,  all  the  feith,  prayers,  and  sacra- 
ments of  twenty,  perhaps  of  forty  years,  with  all  the 
love  in  the  heart  of  our  Zerubbabel,  all  the  blood  in  his 
veins,  all  the  power  in  his  hands,  and  all  the  faithful- 
ness in  his  breast,  were  never  able  to  remove  !  If  this 
doctrine  be  true,  how  greatly  was  St.  Paul  mistaken 
when  he  said,  "  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  (fee.  Thanks 
be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  Christ  our 
Ijord  !"  Should  he  not  have  said,  Death  is  the  care  of 
sin,  instead  of  saying,  "  Sin  is  the  sting  of  death  ?" 
And  should  not  his  praises  flow  thus :  "  Thanks  be  to 
God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  death,  our 
great  and  only  deUverer  from  our  greatest  and  fiercest 
enemy,  indwelling  sin  ?" 

THE    END. 


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Letters,  Diary,  &c.     18mo.  38 

Love-Feast  Tickets,  per  thousand  75 

Love  to  the  Saviour.     By  Rev.  D.  Smith.  ISmo.    31 

Magazine,  Child's,  in  20  vols.,  ISmo.  6  00 

Magazine,  Sunday  School,  in  13  vols.  4  06 

M'Allum,  Rev.  Daniel,  M.  D.,  Remains  of,  with   a 

Memoir.    12mo.  75 

Mammon,  or  Covetousness,  the  Sin  of  the  Christian 

Church.     By  Rev.  John  Harris.     18mo.  50 

Manners    and    Customs    of   the   Ancient    Israelites. 

Translated  from  the  French  of  Claude  Fleury,  by  Adam  Clarke. 
LL.  D.     18mo.  50 

Marriage    Certificates,   with   Engravings,  per  dozen, 

without  dis.  5Q 

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man's  Visit  to  Ashantee  •  »0  31 

Missions  in  Greenland    and    Labrador,  History   ol. 

18mo.  ^® 

Missions  in   India,  History  of.     18mo.  38 

Missions,  South    Sea,    Conversations   on.      2    vols. 

ISmo.  II 

Do,  in  one  volume  d     tj           n 

Mission,  Wyandot,  Reminiscences  of.  By  Rev.   C. 

Elliott.     18mo.  T    -D     x^-^^ 

Mission,  Wyandot,  History   of.     By  Rev.  J.  i3.  l-in- 

ley.   12mo.  10® 

Moral    Fables    and  Parables.     By   Ingram    Cobbm. 

18mo.  ^^ 

More,  Hannah,  Memoir  of.  By  S.  G.  Arnold.  18mo.  38 
Mortimer,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  Memoirs    of.     By  Agnes 

Bulmer,  author  of  "  Messiah's  Kingdom."   18mo.  50 

Murray,  Mrs.,  and  her  Children.     ISmo.  31 

My  Station  and  its  Duties.     By  the  author  of  "  The 

Week."     18mo.  38 

Natural    History.     By    Rev.    D.    Smith.     14    vols 


18mo. 


5  00 


Natural  History,  Scripture,  with  Reflections  designed 

for  the  Young.     By  Henry  Althans.  2vols.  18mo.  62 

Nelson,  Rev.  John,  Journal  of.     l8mo.  38 

New   Divinity,  an  Examination  into  the    System  of. 

By  the  Rev.  F.  Hodgson.     12mo.  1  00 

Original  Church  of  Christ,  or  a  Scriptural  Vindication 
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copal Church.    By  N.  Bangs,  D.  D.     1  vol.  12mo.  1  00 

Oberlin,  Rev.  John  F.,  pastor  of  Waldbach,  Memoir 

of.     18mo.  3® 

Palestine,  Conversations    on  the  Geography,  ^opog 

raphy,  and  Natural  History  of.     By  Imogen  Mercein.   18mo.      50 

Parent's  Friend,  or  Letters  on  the  Government  and 
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Prayer  Meetings,  importance  of,  in  promoting  Revivals 

of  Religion.     By  Rev.  R.  Young.     18mo.  25 

Preacher's    Manual  ;    including  Clavis  Biblica,  and  a 

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• 


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Recollections  of  a  Minister.  ByRev.  J.  T.Barr.  ismo  31 
Reformed  Pastor,   showing  the  nature  of  the  Pastoral 

Work.       By    Richard    Baxter.       Abridged   by    T.    Rutherford. 
12mo.  .  75 

Religion  Recommended  to  Youth  ;  to  which  are  added 

Poems  on  various  Occasions.  By  Caroline  M.  Thayer.  24mo.     2.5 

Review,  Methodist  Quarterly.     Edited  by  Rev.  Dr. 

Peck.     New  series,  \'o\.  1,  royal  8vo.,  sheep  3  50 

Richards,  Lucy,  Memoir  of  44 

Richmond,  Rev.    Legh,  author  of  the    "  Dairyman's 

Daughter,"  &c.,  Life  of  44 

Rogers,   Hester  Ann,  Account  of  the  Experience  of ; 

and  her  Funeral  Sermon,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coke.     18mo.  38 

Roman  Catholicism,  Delineation  of.     By  Rev.  Charles 

Elliott,  D.  D.     2  vols.  8vo.  4  00 

Ruth,  Portrait  of.     18mo.  3L 

Sacred  Literature,  a  Concise  View  of  the  Succession 

of,  from  the  Invention  of  Alphabetical  Characters   to  A.  D.    395. 
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Saints'  Everlasting   Rest.     Extracted    from    Baxter's 

Works,  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.  M.   12mo.  75 

Scottish  History,  Stories  from.     By  Rev.  A.  Stewart. 

18mo.  31 

Scripture  Biography 

of  I8mo.  vols.,  v 


By  Rev.  D.  Smith,  in  a  series 


Abraham 

Jacob 

Mosea 

Joshua 

Samson 

David 

Solomon 

Elijah 

Elisha 

Jonah 

Hezekiah 

Daniel 

Esther 

Ezra  and  Nchemiah 

John  Baptist 

John  the  Apostle 

Peter 

Paul 


31 
38 
38 
38 
25 
31 
38 
38 
31 
25 
2.5 
31 
31 
25 
31 
38 
31 
38 


^^^ 


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Scripture  Views  of  the  Heavenly  World.     By  Rev.  J. 

Edmondson,  A.  M.     18mo.  44 

Seekers  of  Salvation,  Address  to.     By   the  Rev.   J. 

Fletcher  06 

Serious  Call  to  a  Holy  Life.    By  Mr.  Law.    Abridged 

by  the  Rev.  John  "Wesley,  A.  M.     18mo.  50 

Sermons,  Bangs'  on  the   Death  of  Dr.  Fisk  13 

Sermon,  Clarke's,  on  the  Love    of  God   to  a   Lost 

World  12 

Sermon,  Clarke's,  on  Salvation  by  Faith  12 

Sermon,   Drew's,  Divinity  of  Christ  12 

Sermons,  on  various  Subjects.    By  Rev.  T.  A.  Morris, 
one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  M.  E.  Church.    12mo.  1  00 

Sermon,   Fisk's,    on    Future    Rewards    and    Punish- 
ments 12 
Sernion,  Peck's,  on  National  Evils  and  their  Reme- 
dies                                          -                                 12 
Sermon,  Sandford's,  on  Baptism                                  12 
Sermon,  Sandford's,  on  the  Sabbath                             12 
Sermon,  Sandford's,  on  the  ChristianMinistry              12 
Sermon,  Soule's,  on  the    Death    of   Bishop    M'Ken- 
dree                                                                                                  12 
Sermon,    Wise's,    on    the  Duty   of   Personal    Effort. 
32tno.                                                                                              08 

Sermons,    Watson's,  Rev.    Richard.     2    vols.    8vo., 

sheep  plain  3  50 

Do,                 calf  plain  4  00 

Do,                 calf  gilt  4  60 

Do,                 calf  extra  5  00 

Sermons,   Wesley's,    Rev.    John.     2  vols,   common, 

sheep  3  00 

Do,  calf  fine  4  50 

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Do,  calf  extra  5  50 

Smith,  Rev.  John,  late  of  Sheffield,  Memoir  of.     By 

Richard  Treffry,  junior.     18mo.  50 

South  Africa,  Memorials  of.  By  Barnabas  Shaw,  Wes- 

leyan  Missionary,  resident  in   the  country  nearly  twenty  years. 
12mo.  75 

South  Africa,  Wanderings    and  Adventures   in.     By 

Mr.  Steedman.     Abridged  by  the  Rev.  D.  Smith.     18mo.         38 

Speeches,  by  Rev.  Geo.  G.  Cookman  31 


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